What Retirees Want

2Ageism Sucks: It's Bad for People and Bad for Business

DUE TO AMERICA'S obsession with youth – ironically formulated and solidified when Boomers were young – most product and service developers and marketers direct most of their attention to Millennials and Gen Zers. But those cohorts are predominantly broke, time-constrained, and only marginally loyal to products and services. Focusing on the historically “sought-after youth market” is a costly mistake when today's older men and women now have considerable wealth, time, and interests to satisfy.

As we explored in Chapter 1, retirement is currently undergoing a dramatic transition. Due to increasing longevity – particularly of women – and the aging of the Boomers, the swelling ranks of retirees are forming an unprecedented social and market force. And since today's cohorts of older men and women are psychologically, culturally, and financially different from previous older generations, they have new and far more diverse aspirations and dreams for their retirement lifestyles. As a result, there's a far bigger upside to aging – and one that is largely untapped. The opportunity is hiding in plain sight. Seizing it is going to require a fresh appreciation for today's and tomorrow's retirees: who they are; what they'll want to feel, eat, drive, wear, and share; and how they'll want to enjoy and find purpose in their decades of newfound time affluence.

Disinterest in retirees – whether it's due to bias and prejudice, ignorance, ...