Old tricks: How the Baby Boomer market will take the innovation lead

London – Last week, during our Flat Age Network Evening, Anna James, founder and CEO of Spring Chicken, spoke to LS:N Global senior journalist Rowland Manthorpe about how to reach the Boomer market.

A decade of working for Mothercare inspired James to launch an e-commerce site dedicated to improving the daily lives of Baby Boomers, or as James calls them, older adults.

According to James, there was a gap in the market, despite the fact that the older adult market was very similar to the mother and baby sector. ‘What we saw at Mothercare was that the suppliers and the manufacturers were starting to overlap. Those who made [pushchairs] also made walkers with wheels,’ she said.

James believes that, despite some resistance to products perceived to be for the elderly – consumers don’t want to need a product – this market will lead innovation in product design that will be adopted by the mainstream. Using stairlifts as an example, James said she believes the stairlift will be the 21st-century example of the spiral staircase of the 1970s. Older adults may demand the product due to the ailments of old age, but with the right design people from younger demographics will also want the product.

For more on The Flat Age Society, read our macrotrend. Find out what else happened at our Flat Age Network Evening here.