By 2009, there will be 181m Empty Nesters in Europe and the US, representing 75% of all over 50s. In 2004, they spent US$698bn on food, drinks and personal care, and this is forecasted to grow by 2.5% a year over the next five years. Empty Nesters are keen to enjoy the newfound freedom afforded them by greater control of their time, increased disposable income and decreased responsibilities.

Scope

Comprehensive dataset covering Empty Nesters expenditure on food, drinks and personal care, the size of the group and income.
An in-depth exploration of new and emerging need states, attitudes and behaviors determining Empty Nesters future consumption behavior.
Actionable recommendations to capitalize on the consumer trends and insights relevant to Empty Nesters

Report Highlights

By 2009, three quarters of all Seniors in Europe and the US will be Empty Nesters, consumers aged over fifty years whose children have left the home. In absolute terms, this means that there will be 181 million Empty Nesters in Europe and the US in five years time.

On average, 54% of European and American Empty Nesters claim that in the past year they have tried new types of food and drinks. European and American Empty Nesters do however show different propensities to experiment, with 49% and 58% respectively claiming to have experimented with new foods over the past year.

35% of Empty Nesters agreeing that taste is a more important factor than health when choosing food and drink, compared to on average 33% of other Seniors.

Reasons to Purchase

Understand the growing and emerging need states of Empty Nesters that will drive their spending on goods and services over the next five years
Learn how to target Early and Late Empty Nesters more effectively thanks to in depth consumer surveys
Increase sales by developing products, branding strategies and marketing messages which meet the specific needs and attitudes of Empty Nesters

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Hot topic
The future decoded

The number of Empty Nesters is growing
Important changes occur in Empty Nesters lifestyles
Empty Nesters are keen to enjoy their new status

Action points

CHAPTER 2 THE FUTURE DECODED

Introduction
TREND: Empty Nesters are a rapidly growing group

The number of Early Empty Nesters is growing fastest

Late Empty Nesters are the largest group
Targeting Early Empty Nesters is crucial

Empty Nesters change their attitudes and behaviors

Empty Nester status has different effects on lifestyle depending on age

TREND: Empty Nesters expenditure is growing faster than their income

Empty Nesters incomes vary a lot according to age

High earning power boosts Early Empty Nesters disposable incomes
Late Empty Nesters disposable incomes suffer from retirement

Empty Nesters are spending more on CPGs
Empty Nesters per capita food budgets increase

Budgetary constraints reduce Late Empty Nesters food expenditure

Spending on alcohol is limited by health concerns
Empty Nesters want to look and feel "good for their age"

INSIGHT: Empty Nesters are becoming more experimental and self-indulgent

An increase in free time leads to more frequent socializing

Empty Nesters often stock drinks for spontaneous entertaining occasions
Entertaining At Home occasions encourage trading up
Empty Nesters increasingly socialize outside the home also

American Empty Nesters are growing more experimental faster than Europeans

Hedonism is no longer the preserve of the young
European Empty Nesters want more excitement from life
American Empty Nesters are more willing to spend on new experiences

INSIGHT: Empty Nesters are increasingly concerned about their health

A desire for an active life fuels Early Empty Nesters health concerns
Early Empty Nesters increased wealth fuels growth in functional foods
Increased free time facilitates health regime adoption

Empty Nesters can address health problems through diet

Continued mobility is at risk from poor bone health
Poor heart health is at odds with Empty Nesters desire for enjoyment of life

Empty Nesters are more likely to buy organic and fresh products
Empty Nesters place more value on taste than on health when making food choices

INSIGHT: newly-found spare time means that convenience is less important for Empty Nesters

Increased control of their time reduces the need for convenience

... however this does not mean that the need for convenience vanishes...
... simply that it is less of a priority

Conclusions

CHAPTER 3 ACTION POINTS

Introduction
Target Empty Nesters attitudes, not their age

Use marketing campaigns to shift the "center of gravity"

Case Study: Saga

Use ageless marketing to target Empty Nesters

Case Study: New Balance has a successful ageless approach

Communicate effectively with Empty Nesters

Do not patronize Empty Nesters and avoid stereotyping
Messages should be clear, straightforward and above all honest

Target Empty Nesters by promoting realistic expectations
Product effectiveness is crucial to successfully targeting Empty Nesters

Use positive advertising when targeting Late Empty Nesters

Be realistic in the portrayal of Late Empty Nester role models

Focus on certain channels to reach Empty Nesters
Use partnership marketing to increase brand appeal

Develop partnerships with third parties to promote trust

Target Empty Nesters with healthy, high quality and convenient products

Target Empty Nesters with convenient products to facilitate their lifestyle

Case study: Pillsbury
Capitalize on the opportunity created by awareness of heart health

Convenient products must provide a quality food experience

Encourage Empty Nesters to trade up for special occasions

Special occasions require high quality products
There are two basic relevant types of special occasion

Target Early Empty Nesters consumption at work

Offer higher quality meals and snacks to Early Empty Nesters
Offer healthy yet enjoyable products to Early Empty Nesters

CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX

Supplementary data
Definitions
Research methodology
Relevant links
How to contact experts in your industry
List of Tables

Table 1: Empty Nesters as a percentage of all Seniors, 1999-2009
Table 2: Number of Empty Nesters in Europe and the US (m), 1999-2009
Table 3: Early Empty Nesters disposable income as a percentage of the national average, 1999-2009
Table 4: Late Empty Nesters disposable income as a percentage of the national average, 1999-2009
Table 5: Annual per capita disposable income of Empty Nesters (? & US$), 2004-2009
Table 6: Empty Nesters overall spending on groceries, drinks at home and personal care (?bn & US$bn), 2004-2009
Table 7: Empty Nesters annual per head spending on groceries, drinks at home and personal care (?& US$), 2004-2009
Table 8: Empty Nesters annual per head spending on food (? & US$) 2004-2009
Table 9: Empty Nesters annual per head spending on alcohol (? & US$) 2004-2009
Table 10: Empty Nesters annual per head spending on personal care (? & US$) 2004-2009
Table 11: Consumer survey: How much more or less have you used your home for entertaining in the past year?
Table 12: Consumer survey: How much more or less have you tried food and drinks that you havent tried before in the past year?
Table 13: Consumer survey: How much do you agree with the following statement: I live for today and not for tomorrow
Table 14: Consumer survey: How much more or less have you sought more excitement and sensations in your life?
Table 15: Consumer survey: How much more or less have you spent money on experiencing new things rather than buying more products in the shops in the last year?
Table 16: Consumer survey: How important to you is improving your health through your diet?
Table 17: Consumer survey: How much do you agree with the following statement: Taste is more important than health when choosing food and drinks ?
Table 18: Consumer survey: How important are time-saving products and services to you?
Table 19: Consumer survey: How much more would you be ready to spend on time-saving products and services?
Table 20: Consumer survey: How much do you trust health-boosting claims made by food and drink manufacturers?
Table 21: Consumer survey: How much more would you be prepared to pay for an ethical or socially responsible food, drink or personal care product?
Table 22: Empty Nesters in Europe and the US (m), 1999-2009
Table 23: Late Empty Nesters in Europe and the US (m), 1999-2009
Table 24: Early Empty Nesters annual household spending on groceries (? & US$), 1999-2009
Table 25: Late Empty Nesters annual household spending on groceries (? & US$), 1999-2009
Table 26: Early Empty Nesters annual per capita spending on alcohol at home (? & US$), 1999-2009
Table 27: Late Empty Nesters spending on alcohol at home (? & US$), 1999-2009
Table 28: Early Empty Nesters spending on personal care (? & US$), 1999-2009
Table 29: Late Empty Nesters spending on personal care (? & US$), 1999-2009
Table 30: Annual per capita disposable income for Early Empty Nesters (? and US$), 1999-2009
Table 31: Annual per capita disposable income for Late Empty Nesters (? and US$), 1999-2009
Table 32: Consumer survey: How much more would you be prepared to pay for a green energy tariff?
Table 33: Definitions of terms used in the report

List of Figures

Figure 1: In the US, Early Empty Nesters are particularly valuable, earning considerably more than their European counterparts
Figure 2: Empty Nesters social lives increasingly take place outside the home
Figure 3: American Empty Nesters are becoming more experimental than their European counterparts
Figure 4: European Empty Nesters in particular want to live for the moment
Figure 5: European Empty Nesters are hungrier for excitement
Figure 6: Empty Nesters desire for new experiences is not always matched by their readiness to spend accordingly
Figure 7: Empty Nesters believe that diet is crucial to their health
Figure 8: Empty Nesters place taste above health properties
Figure 9: Time-saving products and services are less important to Empty Nesters
Figure 10: Empty Nesters are less willing than other Seniors to pay more for convenience
Figure 11: Target Seniors by shifting the "center of gravity" in marketing campaigns from their chronological age to their desired age
Figure 12: Ageless images from the New Balance marketing campaign
Figure 13: Empty Nesters are less inclined to trust manufacturers health claims
Figure 14: Images used in the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign appeal to Empty Nesters
Figure 15: Most suitable communication channels for targeting Seniors
Figure 16: Partnership marketing alters the image of brands and can make them more appealing to Empty Nesters
Figure 17: Many Empty Nesters are willing to spend money on ethically produced goods
Figure 18: Products that provide convenience and quality experiences
Figure 19: American Empty Nesters are willing to pay more for green energy tariffs than Europeans