The Konsumbarometer 2016 – Europa report from financial services company Commerz Finanz is based on a survey of over 10,500 consumers across 13 European countries (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the UK). 

The report revealed that there are around 150m consumers aged between 50 and 75 across the current EU states and that by 2050, the over-65s will account for 30% of the population. This, the report says, will have implications for all sectors, including transport, leisure, housing and health. 

Alexander Wild, a specialist in marketing to  this age group, commented on the report: "Markets are changing in favour of older consumers. In many product groups almost half of all buyers are 50 years and older today – market successes are increasingly decided by age-appropriate products."

What’s more, this age group has "a high purchasing power and often have much time for leisure and shopping", said Gerd Hornbergs, CEO of Commerz Finanz. This means that they place more emphasis on quality and often own the latest digital devices before their children. 

However, they are not inclined to make spontaneous purchases: 74% refer to websites, while 61% use comparison shopping tools, and 55% look for opinions from other consumers.