Seniors Spend More On Nightlife Than Juniors

October 10, 2009 | By Kim Walker

Free-spirited over-65s spend 20 per cent more per capita on vices than 30-49-year-olds, their seemingly more conservative children. Drinks groups such as Diageo and Bacardi may continue to urge customers to practice moderation but still have plenty to gain from a greying population.

This article in the Financial Times ‘Boomer Profits’, explains how some of the less obvious effects of the demographic change will affect other industries. Socialising seniors, for example, spend about 50 per cent more of their income on going out than their juniors. Also bucking the stereotype is seniors’ expenditure on drinks and tobacco.

In 18 months the first baby boomers will begin to retire. Many companies expect a two-decade boom as members of this demographic bulge put away their working boots. Although over-75s in the UK spend about a quarter less per capita than anyone else, upcoming retirees have more cash than their predecessors. Over the past decade, the 6 per cent compound average growth in senior citizens’ expenditure has also been twice the average – even if rising life expectancy means retirees will now have to spread savings more thinly.

The healthcare industry is an obvious beneficiary, but not for everyone. Longer lives do not directly translate into profit gains as the additional years are largely healthy ones. In the US, over-65s spend between $1,000 and $2,000 per month on healthcare, regardless of their age, until about six months before dying, when spending triples. It is the growing number of patients with long-term conditions such as dementia, where they can live medicated for 10-15 years, that could well favour drugs companies.

Opportunities abound!