QUICK FACTS ABOUT TODAY'S SENIORS

·         They control 70% of all wealth in the United States

·         They bring in $2 trillion in annual income

·         They have more disposable income than any other age group

·         They own more homes than any other age group

·         They would be lost without their computers and the internet (84%)

·         They purchase 41% of all new cars

·         They spend 74% more on vacations than any other age group

·         They exercise - 16 million exercise at least 3 times a week

·         They enjoy gambling and are willing to travel to do so

·         They spend more on groceries, health products, and leisure

FIRST, did you know...

SENIORS ENJOY LUXURY TRAVEL

• Travel ranks among the top leisure activities for men and women over 50. They spend over $30 billion a year on vacation travel.
• Mature vacationers travel more frequently than any other age group, stay longer, and go farthest .
• They account for more than 72 percent of all RV trips, 70 percent of cruise passengers.
• Seniors spend 74 percent more on a typical vacation than 18- to 49-year-olds.
• Seniors account for 80% of all luxury travel

SENIORS INDULGE THEIR GRANDCHILDREN

• Seniors account for fully one in four of all toy sales. And there’s a new grandchild born every 20 seconds.

SENIORS BUY NEW, LUXURY CARS

• They buy 48% of luxury cars, 41% of all new cars and trucks.

SENIORS BUY 3/4 OF ALL PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

• Seniors account for 74% of prescription drug sales and 51% of over-the counter drug sales.

SENIORS LOVE TO GAMBLE

• Seniors like to gamble and are willing to travel to play.

SENIORS LOVE THE INTERNET

• Seniors spend more time online than even teenagers. Seniors spent $7 billion online during 2008.
• All this, yet seniors currently receive less than 10 percent of all U.S. advertising messages.

SENIORS HAVE MORE MONEY THAN MOST

• Seventy-five percent of all US wealth is in the hands of customers aged 50 +. Seniors control $900 billion in discretionary income and account for fully half of all U.S. discretionary spending. Some 5 million seniors (14 percent) are employed.
• Seniors have an income per capita that is 26% higher than the national average.

• Senior market is larger than African-American and Hispanic market segments combined.
• Eighty percent of Americans 65 and older own their own homes, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal by the Fidelity Research Institute.

— Source: www.onmagazine.com