4) Asawarenessoflifestyle-relatedhealthissuesgrows,moresilvers are partaking in exercise/fitness programs andwellnessactivities.
5) Reflecting the demand for experiences seen acrossdemographic groups, seniors are increasingly participatingin leisure activities that have a social component, such asgoingtothemovies,attendingeventsanddiningout.
This is thefifthreport inourSilversSeries,andhere,weturnour focustothe leisure industry to examine how seniors are spending their free time.Weconcentrateparticularlyontwogrowthsegments:travelandfitness.
Thetwokeyfactorsdrivingseniors’participationintheleisureindustryareincreasedmobility andmoney. Since2000, theglobal averagehealthy lifeexpectancy rate has improved, with developing regions seeing a higherchange in rates than developed regions. Also, senior households incountriessuchastheUSandtheUKareoutpacingyoungergenerations intheincomeandwealthstakes.
We looked at the consumer spending patterns of seniors in three majoreconomies—theUS, the UK and Japan—and found that seniors across allthreecountriesallocateahigherportionoftheirconsumptionexpenditureto leisure than the average person does. We also found that youngerseniors(thoseages65–74)spendrelativelymorethanolderseniors(those75andolder)ondiscretionarycategories.
Oneofthekeytakeawaysfromourresearchisthatseniorsareincreasinglywillingtospendonexperiences.Intermsofleisurespending,thisisturningout to be one of the defining characteristics of the present generation ofsilvers.Travelandfitnessaretwoindustriesthataregainingfromthistrend.
“Whatisthislifeif,fullofcare,wehavenotimetostandandstare?”wroteWelshpoetW.H.DaviesinhispoemLeisure.Itwaswrittenin1911,butisarguably as relevant today—and especially for the burgeoning seniorsegment.Retirementistherewardforalifetimeofwork,givingseniorsfreetime to spend on recreational activities such as travel, volunteering,exerciseandsocialactivities.Itisthisleisureelementofretirementthatweturnourattentiontointhisreport.
This is the fifth report in our Silvers Series, which has already looked athealthcare technology, homecare and assisted living, technology formobility-constrained seniors, and the how retail is being reconfigured inorder tomeet the needs of seniors. In this report,we look at the leisureindustrytoexaminehowseniorsarespendingtheirfreetime.Wefocusinparticularontwogrowthsegments,travelandfitness.
MobilityandMoneyDriveSilvers’LeisureParticipation
Many leisure activities—and notably the growth segments of travel andfitness—demand two prerequisites: mobility and money (health andwealth). Thankfully for the leisure industry, seniors are becoming bothhealthier and wealthier, giving them greater freedom to pursue theirfavoredactivities.
Health
Between 2000 and 2015, nearly all regions of the world witnessed anincrease in healthy life expectancymeasures, somemore so than others.The more developed regions of the Americas and Europe witnessed asmaller rise inhealthy life expectancy than the global average increaseof4.6 years. Among the developing regions, Africa saw the greatestimprovement, of 8.4 years. The change in Southeast Asia exceeded theglobal average, while the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacificregions saw increases that were slightly lower than the global averageincrease.
The incipientmobility that accompanies better health will likely enable agreater proportion of seniors to leadmore socially active lives than theirpredecessorsinpreviousgenerationsdid.
Our research confirms that senior households in the US and the UK areoutpacingyoungerhouseholdsintheincomeandwealthstakes.IntheUS,we found that the mean family wealth and before-tax real income ofhouseholdsheadedbymostagegroupsunder64 contractedconsiderablybetween2001and2013.Meanwhile,householdsheadedbythoseaged65–74sawasignificantincreaseintheiraveragewealthandincome.
Assimilardata,forthesametimeperiod,wereunavailablefortheUK,wecompared themeannominal before-tax incomes of taxpaying earners, byage group. We found that the mean income across all age groups rosebetween2011and2014,andthatpeopleinsenioragegroupsintheUKsawtheir incomes rise at the average rate or slightly below it. It is, however,interesting to note that the baby boomers—those ages 55–64—saw thehighest rise in their income,with theexceptionof thoseyounger than20(whose datamay not be comparable, as the number of taxpayers in thisgroupareveryfewcomparedtotheotheragegroups).
Across theworld, silvers are spendingmore on consumer staples such asfood,andonessentialssuchashousing,utilitiesandhealthcare,thantheyare on recreation and leisure. We looked at the consumer spendingpatternsofseniorsinthreemajoreconomies—theUS,theUKandJapan—andfoundthefollowing:
• Seniors across all three countries allocate a higher portion of theirconsumptionexpendituretowardleisurethantheaveragepersondoes.
• Younger silvers spend relatively more than older silvers do ondiscretionary categories such as recreation, entertainment, travel andeatingout—whichwerefertocollectivelyas“leisure.”
• In theUS and theUK, total consumer spendingon leisureby those65andolderisclosetoorslightlylessthanthatoftheotheragegroups.InJapan, however, households headed by seniors spendmore on leisurethanyoungerhouseholdsdo.
In the US, spending on leisure includes eating out; travel; fees andadmissionstoevents,movies,clubsandorganizations;TV,radioandsoundequipment; pets, toys, hobbies and playground equipment; and otherproductsandservices.
US consumers spent approximately $830.8 billion on leisure services in2014, according to the Consumer Expenditure Survey conducted by BLS.Consumers aged 65 and over spent $159.5 billion on leisure in 2014,equating to about 19% of the total. This is roughly the same share ofspending as accounted for by those in the next-youngest age group—i.e.,thosebetween55and64yearsold.
IntermsofUSper-householdspendingonleisure,in2014,seniorsages65–74spentless($6,852onaverage)thanconsumersages35–44($7,866)and45–54($7,795)did,butspentmorethanhouseholdsheadedbythoseintheother age groups did. Households headed by seniors aged 75 and overtypicallyspentmuchless($3,613)thanhouseholdsintheotheragegroups.
We conducted a similar analysis of spending data from the UK. Britishconsumersspentapproximately£154.0billiononleisurein2014,accordingto the ONS, with households headed by seniors aged 65 and overcontributingabout22%ofthisamount.
In theUKmarket,spendingon leisureactivities includespurchasesofTVs,audiovisual, photographic and information-processing equipment;purchases of sporting equipment, garden equipment and pets; fees andadmissions to events, movies, clubs and organizations; purchases ofnewspapers,booksandstationery;anddiningoutandtravel.
In 2014, the average leisure spend per household headed by youngerseniors(ages65–74)wasmuchhigher(£6,115)thantheaveragespendperhouseholdheadedbythose75andover(£2,980).
The third country we looked at is Japan, where the proportion ofhouseholdsheadedbyconsumersages65andoveris large,atabout40%,especially when compared to senior-headed households in the US (23%)and the UK (28%). This boosts seniors’ contribution to total consumerspendinginJapan.
In 2014, total consumer spending on leisure in Japanwas ¥34.21 trillion;householdsheadedbypeople65andoveraccountedfor36%ofthattotal.Younger senior households accounted for 25% of seniors’ total spending,while households headed by those 75 and older accounted for theremaining11%.
Leisure spending in Japan includes purchases of books and readingmaterials; recreational durable, semi-durable and non-durable goods;recreationalservices;eatingoutandtravel-relatedspending.
Twokeytakeawaysfromthesedataarethatseniorstendtospendlessonleisureactivitiesthanyoungerconsumersdo,andthatyoungerseniors(65–74) spent substantiallymoreon leisure, per household, than seniors aged75 and over did in 2014. The ability to participate in leisure activities isalmostcertainlyakeyfactorbehindthissecondtrend:youngerseniorsarelikely to be more mobile and in better health than older seniors are,bolsteringtheirparticipationin,andspendingon,leisureservices.
LEISURE-TIMEACTIVITIESOFSENIORS
Retired people and seniors may have additional free time compared tothosewhoareemployed,butnaturalweaknessand frailtyduetoagecanlimit their choices of leisure-time activities. Research by the BLS in 2014foundthatAmericanseniors’most-preferred free-timeactivity iswatchingTV, and that they spendmost of their free time participating in activitiesthat require little physical effort and are relatively low cost compared torecreationalactivitiessuchasdiningoutandtraveling.
Aninterestingpointtonoteisthatseniorsages65–74outrankadjacentorproximityagegroups in termsofparticipating in“other leisureandsportsactivities,includingtravel”and“sports,exerciseandrecreation,”accordingtotheBLS.
Data from the UK present a similar picture. In England, too, the mostcommonleisureactivityamongseniorsiswatchingTV,accordingtoa2011surveyconductedbytheONS.Thisisfollowedbyspendingtimewithfriendsand family. As in theUS, in England, reading ranks highly among seniors’preferred activities. Activities that involve leaving the house and thatrequirepayingafeetoparticipatearemuchlesspopularamongseniors,theONSsurveyfound.
Asimilarsurvey inJapan,conducted in2011,foundthatthemoregeneralcategory of “hobbies and amusements” was the most popular leisureactivityamong Japanese seniors.However, sports ranked relativelyhighly;Japanese seniors are only slightly less likely than people in all other agegroups to takepart in sports. This could suggest that seniors in Japanarelikelytobemoreactive.Wediscussthisinmoredetaillaterinthisreport.
In Japan, the “age gap” between seniors and the general population isgreaterincategoriessuchastravelthaninsports,possiblybecauseseniorshave lowermobility levelsor lessability tospend. Japanalsohasahigherproportionofolderseniors,whichprobablyresultsinalowerparticipationrate.ButJapaneseseniorsseemtoindexveryclosetotheotheragegroupsforvolunteeractivities.
Travel is a leisure category where seniors have been increasing theirspending. Based on the BLS’s Consumer Expenditure Survey, we estimatethatUShouseholdsheadedbyconsumersaged65andoverspentaround$40.6 billion on travel-related activities in 2014. This was up almost 35%from the group’s spending on travel in 2010, although the number ofhouseholds headed by seniors rose by only about 19% in the period inbetween.
Silvers accounted for some 21.6% of US travel-related expenditure byhouseholdsin2014,upfrom18.9%in2010.Thisislowerthantheirshareof
households:so,whiletravelisagrowthareaforseniors,householdsinthisage group typically still spend less on the category than the average UShouseholddoes.
ThisgrowthintravelspendingbyAmericanseniorswasseenintheperiodafter 2012. Between 2010 and 2012, the share of households headed byseniorsincreasedby153basispoints,buttheirshareofspendingontravelincreased at a lesser clip, by 139 basis points. Between 2012 and 2014,however, the share of senior-headed households increased by 117 basispoints,whiletheirshareofspendingontravelincreasedby137basispoints.
While seniors in the US still underindex on spending in this category, weexpect growing travel spend by seniors in the coming years to beunderpinned by the retirement of the baby boomer generation:we thinkthisgenerationwilltaketheirinterestintravelingintotheirretirement.
DatafromconsumergroupAARPsupportsthisviewofbabyboomersbeingenthusiastic travelers. TheorganizationpolledUS consumers aged50 andover and found that fully 99% of those surveyed expected to traveldomesticallyorinternationallyin2016.
IntheEU,seniortravelhasbeengrowinginthelastfewyears.Welookedatthechangeinthepopulationingeneral,andthechangeintouristnumbersand spending, of the various age groups between 2012 and 2014, anddiscovered:
• The 65-and-over population grew at a faster rate than any other agegroup.
• The 65-and-over group of travelers also grew at a faster clip than theotheragegroup.
Consulting firm Frost & Sullivan forecasts that the number of seniortravelers from Asia-Pacific countries will almost double over the next 15years, with the largest demand for outbound tourism coming from Chinaand India, which currently have relatively young working populationscomparedtotheUSandEurope.
The company also found that older travelers are less likely than youngertravelers to use smartphones and the Internet to make travel plans andbookings, which presents tour operators with a feasible opportunity tocatertoseniors’needs.
Travel firms catering to silvers need to address their particular needs and preferences, which include:
Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology
TravelFirmsCatertoGrowingSilverDemand
Several tour operators focusing on senior tour groups have sprung up tocater to this growing demand.We outline some of themore noteworthysenior-focusedtouroperatorsandresourcesbelow.
• ElderTreks: Canada-based ElderTreks is one of the few global travelcompaniesthatofferadventuretourpackagesforpeopleover50.Italsoclaims to be one of the few companies that offer packages for smallgroups(themaximumgroupsizeis16).ElderTreksoffersactivitiesatfivelevelsofintensity,rangingfromeasytochallenging.
• Travelwith a Challenge: This is awebsitewith travel information andresources formature travelers. It features articles and travel news onfamily vacations, cultures, destinations, nature and wildlife holidays,cruise and train travel, and volunteer vacations appropriate for seniortravelers.
• Saga: This is a UK-based company that offers travel, insurance andpersonalfinanceservicesforcustomersaged50andover.SagaHolidays,
• HappyAge:HappyAgeisanItaliantravelcompanyfocusedonprovidingtour services to seniors. It organizes domestic and foreign trips thataccommodate the special needs that seniors may have, and providesguided excursions, assistance at various points during the trip andinsurance.
Cruises are a perennial favorite among more affluent and able seniortravelers,andtherearenumerouscompaniesthatofferpackagesbasedontravelerprofileandpreference.AsoutlinedbyinformationalwebsiteCruiseCritic,someofthemostpopulartypesofcruiseofferingsare:
• Cruisesbasedon itinerary choice: Travelers looking to have a relaxingvacationwhiletheyenjoyscenicviewsorexploreexoticlocalesmayoptforthistypeofcruise.ProviderssuchasPrincessCruisesandHurtigrutenoffervoyagesthattakepassengersthroughpicturesqueregionssuchasAlaskaandtheNorwegianfjords;passengerscanenjoythesceneryfromtheshipdecksorbalconies,orevenexploretheareaonfoot,iftheyareuptoit,whentheshipdocksataspot.
• Cruises that offer onboard enrichment programs: Some cruise lines,such as Celebrity Cruises and Crystal Cruises, offerworkshops, coursesand programs for passengers to learn a new skill while they travel.Programsoffered range fromactingworkshops to computer classes tonicheexperiencessuchasglassblowingandYamahamusiclessons.
• Solocruises:NorwegianCruiseLine,UniworldandHollandAmericaLineareafewoftheoperatorswithcruiseshipsdesignedforthosetravelingalone. Since many cruise ships are designed for people traveling as acoupleoringroups,itmaybeuneconomicalforsolotravelerstohavetopaythesameprice.Cruiselinesthatfocusonsolotravelersofferstudioroomsmeant for a single occupant, and many offer team events andprogramsthatdonotrequireapartnerforparticipation.
• Multigenerational cruises: Multigenerational travel refers to two ormore generations traveling together; family groups might includegrandparents, parents and children.An important factor to consider inmultigenerationaltravelisthattastesandinterestsvarywithage.RoyalCaribbeanCruisesservesthismarketnichebyofferingvariousactivitiesthatcatertochildrenaswellasadults.
• Cruiseswith special accessibility features:Whilemost cruise lines areadapted to enable passengers with accessibility issues to travelcomfortably, some have additional features. Certain travel classes onRoyal Caribbean’s fleet offer accessible cabins with more space forwheelchairs and hydraulic chairs by swimming pools to make themaccessible.
Travel is not the only pastime that silvers are spending more on. As weshowinthefollowingsection,theyareincreasinglyinterestedinhealthandwellnessactivities,too.
Growingparticipationinfitnessisasecondmajorthemeinseniors’ leisureparticipation. Evenas somecommentatorsarepointing to theever-more-sedentarylivesthatpeopleingeneralareleading,USseniorsarebecomingmore active. According to data from the US National Center for HealthStatistics:
• Between2008and2014,thepercentageofyoungerseniors(ages65–74) that engaged in no leisure-time physical activity fell from45.8%to35.0%,adeclineof10.8percentagepoints.Thiswasthelargestpercentage-pointdeclineofanyagegroup.
• During the same period, the nonparticipation figures for seniorsages75–84fellfrom51.3%to46.9%(adropof4.4points).
• For seniors ages 85 and over, the proportion that engaged in noleisure-timephysicalactivityfellfrom68.5%to60.7%,adropof8.8points.
JapanhasamoreactiveseniorpopulationthantheUSdoes.Accordingtothemostrecent(2011)time-usesurveybyJapan’sstatisticsbureau,55.2%ofthecountry’sseniorsaged65andoverparticipate insportsorexercise.Themostpopular formofexercise iswalkingor lightphysical exercise; asseniorsofvaryinglevelsofhealthandfitnesscanperformsuchexercise, itoutranks all other forms of exercise that Japanese seniors choose toparticipatein.
Japanese seniors also show a greater preference for sports/activities thatcanbeperformedindependentlythanforteamsportsthatrequireatleast
Trainingatthegymisgraduallybecomingafavoriteactivityamongseniorsin Japan. At Curves—one of largest fitness chains in Japan by number ofmembersandbynumberofoutlets—themajorityofmembersareseniors:in2015,fully83%ofmemberswereaged50orover.Curves’targetmarketisolderwomen,butdespitethisapparentlynichepositioning,ithasnearlytwicethenumberofmembersandatleastfourtimesthenumberofoutletsas the larger Japanese chains do. We think this reflects the demand forfitness among older Japanese consumers—and, given that Japan’spopulationhasanexceptionallyhighproportionofseniors,weexpect thistrendtocatchonelsewhere.
KonamiSportsClub,oneofthelargestfitnesscluboperatorsinJapan,runsaprogramspecificallytargetedtomembersaged60andover.Theprogramincludes courses such as “Strengthening Legs and Hips” and “BrainActivation” to supplement government initiatives aimed at reducing theneedfornursingcareandpromotingahealthylifestyle.Ina2014filing,thecompany noted it expects that “the demand for health-related servicesamongmiddle-aged and senior consumerswill increase” in the imminentfuture,giventhegrowingawarenessofhealthylivingandthegovernment’simplementationofvariousschemestoaddresslifestyle-relateddiseases.
OTHERLEISURETRENDS
Apartfromtravelandfitness,silvershaveshownagrowinginterestinsomeother segments of the recreation industry. They are going to themoviesmore often, choosing to spend more on experiences than on goods andspending more on leisure activities that have a social element, such asdiningout,takingclassesandparticipatinginclubs.
Going to themovieshasbeenapopular leisure-timeactivity sincemovieswereinvented,andsilversareincreasinglygoingtothecinemaintheirfreetime.Themost recent reportpublishedby theMotionPictureAssociationofAmericafoundthattheshareofmovieticketssoldtothe40–49and50–59agegroupswereatall-timehighs in2015,andthattheshareofticketssold to those aged 60 and over was at its highest level since 2011. Theorganizationfoundthatnumberofmoviegoersinotheragegroups(exceptfor the40–49group)grewbyasmallerpercentageordeclinedduring theperiodstudied.
A2015surveybyEventbrite,aglobaleventmanagementcompany, foundthatbabyboomerstendtosharethe“livemore”mentalitywithmillennials,as both groups place more emphasis on spending on experiences ratherthanonthings.Thesurveyfoundthatabout59%ofbabyboomersand76%ofmillennialswouldratherspendmoneyonattendingeventsandpartakingin experiences than onmaterial possessions. Some 54%of baby boomerssurveyed also noted that they now havemore time to attend events, astheirchildrenareolder.
ActivitiesthatFosterSocialParticipation
We noted in our previous report, Retail Reconfiguration for Seniors, thatwhile seniors look at activities such as shopping in terms of the socialexperience they provide, they also like other activities that give them anopportunitytomeetandminglewithpeople.
ResearchfirmTheNPDGroupfoundthat,in2013,babyboomers’andolderseniors’ share of visits to restaurants increased, while millennials’ sharedecreased.Seniorsaremore likely thanyoungeragegroups tohavemorefree time,andeatingouthasa socialelement to it,as itallowspeople tocatch up over ameal or drink. For some, it is also away of congregatingpeoplewholiveinthesameneighborhoodinasingleplace.
Games,clubsandsocietiesdesignedwithsilversinmindalsoprovideawayfor seniors to socialize through leisure-timeactivities.Manyelder-focusedsupport groups and residential institutes design and conduct classes andprogramssuchasartworkshopsandmusiclessonstoprovideseniorswithopportunitiesforlearning,socializingandself-development.
KEYTAKEAWAYS
In terms of leisure spending, one of the defining characteristics of thepresent generation of silvers is their increased willingness to spend onexperiences. Therehasbeen a rise in senior tourism, seemingly drivenbyyoungersilversages65–74.
Withagrowingawarenessoflifestyle-relatedhealthissues,moresilversarealso partaking in exercise/fitness programs and wellness activities. GymsandfitnessclubsinJapanareseeinganincreaseintheproportionofseniormembers, who may soon outnumber younger members, if they do notalready. We expect to see this trend emerge in other countries as theyfollowJapan’sleadintoanagingsociety.
As seniors’ contribution to the recreation and entertainment industrygrows,retailers,serviceprovidersandothervendorsmustrethinkthewaysinwhichtheypromotetheirofferings,andmaybeevenwidentheir targetaudience. Silvers arewilling and able to spend, and if providers of leisureservices tailor their offerings to accommodate the needs of seniors, theystandtobenefitfromthisgrowingconsumersegment.
