BOSTON: The world’s biggest spenders are people nearing retirement and the elderly, notes the McKinsey Global Institute in a report. And as population growth slows, those 60 and and older will drive consumption – the life-blood of the global economy – around the world. In places like China and Western Europe, over the next 15 years older consumers will account for as much as 60 percent of spending – three or even four times the rate of consumption growth for younger people.
“The glamorisation of youth by marketers and advertising buyers is a vestige of the past,” said Richard Dobbs, a director with the research firm. “The real power globally lies with the 60-plus age group who will contribute more than one-third of global consumption growth”…