Chapter 3: Where are the Boomers Spending Their Money in the health and fitness market?

What Age are they in Now?

The baby boomers are born between the years 1946-1964. In the year 2009, their age would fall within the range of 45to 63.

It is safe to say that boomers in this range are well established in life, bought all their houses, cars, utilities, books and investment policies.

In other words money is not a problem for them.

They have worked hard during the boom and they would continue to do so since they have established careers. They will not be able to retire from their jobs or businesses so easily due to their commitments to their families.

It is also interesting to note that most baby boomers are so busy working, that many would not have devoted time to exercise, take good care of their body and find time to lead a well balanced life.

Health care and insurance are more in demand and it is very alarming.

Alternatives would need to be considered or else the entire U.S. economy will need to budget more to this category. There might not be enough medical care in the future to tend to the declining health of 78 million baby boomers.

Doctors, insurance agencies and many professionals are cashing in on this health problem.

The boomers are living in a stressful age where for the first time in history, they are working longer for less pay.

Here is an alarming fact:

Every 8 seconds, someone in the U.S. turns 54 years old for the next 18 years!

What next?

In the next chapter, we will discuss the next big trend.

Where Would Their Main Priority Be?

If I had everything money can buy, what would be my next desire? Most probably the things money cannot buy!

Perhaps it is too far fetched to think money can buy everything in life. But it certainly is the trend now that more and more people, than ever are spending more and more money on gym membership, facials, slimming, beauty treatment and maybe even breast enlargement!

It is the age where people celebrate the fact that beauty can be ‘bought’.

If I had everything but I am old, I guess my next goal would be to slow down my aging or in other words, anti-aging.

You see, 78 million baby boomers don’t want to grow old. They want to live longer and healthier so they can spend their hard earned wealth on fun and excitement!

At their peak earning years, buying whatever they want is not a problem.

In the year 2002, there was already 200 million U.S. Dollars spent every year in the wellness industry alone.

At that time, Paul Zane Pilzer has predicted that by the year 2010, it is going to increase up to ONE TRILLION DOLLARS. That is practically more than 2 billion spent on wellness every day!

Today, there is already 500 million U.S. Dollars spent on wellness and the trend is still increasing. This is also exponential growth to consider.

Remember the discussion above about a growing and expanding market? If I want to cash in big, I would focus on marketing products that will help them slow the effects of aging, preserving their youth, give them more energy (either to work more or play better) and maintain their good looks.

We are really looking at ‘business at the speed of thought’ here.

There is still a very large growing market base in the future. The statistics show that the boomers are still increasing their expenditure more and more on health and wellness.

Furthermore, the boomers are all looking for instant solutions.

They don’t want to spend all day waking up in the wee hours of the day going for a jog. They want to have products that they can just eat or consumer anytime of the day, and they will be all set for rest of their busy schedule.

There are also many other areas they would consider at this stressful age and time.

Spa services or massage parlors are more lucrative than ever because they can rest and relax after a hard day’s work.

Basically, preventive health care would be the next big thing and scientists and researchers are working round the clock to cater for this expanding market.

Where Will They Start Looking For Solutions?

It is highly likely that most of these boomers will not have a lot of time to research on health care since they are so busy earning money.

Most of the time, they prefer to listen to an expert on health or wellness give them simple answers to their problems.

Already there are a huge number of practitioners or sales people positioning themselves as knowledgeable coaches or experts on the areas of health.

Other than that, they will just key in a word on Google and start reading about health issues and preventive medicine.

A lot of people are also starting to do away with drugs to treat their ailments. They are afraid that there will be too many side effects.

Today there are companies that are starting to do research on alternatives to drugs and are starting to receive acceptance among medical panels. They are considering natural or herbal remedies to drugs.

The boomers will start spending all their money on preventive and supplementary healthcare because health is declining and insurance premiums are getting higher and higher. They don’t want to have any interruption to their busy schedules when they fall sick or get hospitalized.

After all, it is no good having millions in the bank if you are too sick to use them or if you are bound to a wheelchair and you can’t spend your money on a holiday.

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