Companies target the $15tn silver economy
Ford is developing a driving seat that can detect a potential heart attack and bring the car safely to a stop, joining a lengthening list of companies tapping into the world’s growing market of wealthy over-60s. The global spending power of the now elderly "baby boomer" generation – which has more money, lives longer and is more active than their parents – will reach $15tn by 2020, Euromonitor has forecast. Consumption spending among those aged 60 and over rose 50 per cent faster than those under 30 in the past two decades, according to Eurostat. In a six part series, the Financial Times takes an in-depth look at the changes being forced on industries ranging from technology to entertainment as companies wake up to the opportunities provided by the world’s rapidly ageing population. By 2050, the number of those aged more than 65 will outnumber children aged five and under for the first time. Pharma and biotech companies are among those increasing investment to meet rising demand from the elderly, with research and development spending in the global life science industry up 3.1 per cent from last year to $201bn, according to research group Battelle. Some 86 per cent of Americans over the age of 65 have at least one chronic medical condition such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer, and more than half have two or more. Ford’s driver-seat technology joins initiatives from other carmakers such as Toyota to take advantage of a growing market of car buyers over 65 that today generates roughly $140bn in annual sales in the US alone. According to a survey carried out by the Silversurfer website for the FT, almost 60 per cent of those aged over 50 say that technology is still not being adapted to their needs. "We observe mega trends, and we observe what customers want and what they will spend their money on," said Pim van der Jagt, managing director of the Ford Research Center. "100-year-olds driving cars will be not abnormal in the future." "We asked our members ‘What is the one thing you don’t want to give up?," said Jody Holtzman who heads thought leadership at the US-based AARP, a group for the over-50s. "They said ‘It’s the car keys.’ The fact is that the auto industry knows this." Not only are people living longer, they enter what used to be thought of as old age in a physical condition much more akin to that of yesterday’s middle-aged consumers, who are increasingly prepared to go on working and earning money after reaching retirement age. Ford’s seat monitors the driver’s cardiovascular system for irregularities, and works with a camera to monitor head movement and sensors on the steering-wheel to spot a possible heart attack, and engage steering and braking systems. "About 30 per cent of people above 65 have some kind of heart irregularity," said Mr van der Jagt. "If they are still driving, then they will have a real interest in this, that they will have it monitored in the car." Ford is reluctant to say when it might be built into its production cars, but Mr van der Jagt said it would take less than five years to scale up to full production. Toyota is conducting field tests in Japan, which has one of the world’s biggest elderly populations, for various sensors and scanners that trigger warning systems at intersections and traffic lights, targeting older drivers who are keen to stay mobile, but whose perception may be impaired.