CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - June 9, 2010) - Alphadaughters.com. Over 12% of the US population are aged 65 or over and in the EU and US combined there are over 100 million people in this rapidly growing demographic group. Many of these consumers are the greying baby boomers who, with accumulated assets in the form of property, savings, pensions and investments, still have significant purchasing power. However, this market is complex and often proves difficult to address. Now a new online market research and business development site, Alphadaughters.com, has been set up to help companies and organisations supplying products and services for the over 65s.
According to Alphadaughters.com, many elderly people delegate major purchasing to their children – especially when those purchases are made online. This has created a new type of consumer – the 'Alpha Daughter'.
In 2009 Peter Kruger identified the Alpha Daughter as an important demographic group. "They are often caring for ageing parents and are already a key target for companies marketing healthcare devices and services," explains Kruger. "They also arrange travel, organise house repairs and make major purchases, such as furniture and consumer electronics, on their parents' behalf." Kruger sees the Alpha Daughter's role as a proxy consumer as similar to that of the Alpha Mom, a mother who purchases goods and services on behalf of her children and who is either responsible for, or heavily influences, up to 70% of household expenditure.
"Unlike the Alpha Mom market, the Alpha Daughter market is expanding, with elderly people growing into it rather than growing out of it," says Kruger. "Whereas young people become more proficient in the use of technology as they grow older and therefore become more independent, elderly people will increasingly seek advice from family members before purchasing goods and services online."
Research carried out by Alphadaughters.com identified family members, in most cases the elderly person's daughter, as an important customer for consumer medical devices and online healthcare and support services. It pointed to Docobo in the UK and RememberItNow.com in the US as two up and coming players in this market. As Kruger points out, "The Alpha Daughter will be a major consumer of online services that help her fit care for her parents into a busy working schedule".
Alphadaughters.com also sees the Alpha Daughter having a wider impact on the economy and becoming an important factor in government fiscal and healthcare planning, as Kruger explains: "When baby boomers retire much of their wealth retires with them and they become markedly less economically active than they were during their youth and middle age. This has macro economic implications that governments are beginning to address." The report "Alpha Moms Become Alpha Daughters" points to evidence that governments are already putting in place fiscal structures that transfer wealth from elderly baby boomers to younger people who are more economically active, as a means of stimulating economic growth. "Companies need to be aware of the role Alpha Daughters will play in this transfer of wealth and the business opportunity this represents," says Kruger.
The report "Alpha Moms Become Alpha Daughters" is available from http://www.alphadaughters.com.
About Alphadaughters.com
Alphadaughters.com helps companies and organisations develop business models and marketing strategies that will enable them to reach the influential 'Alpha Daughter' consumer.
www.alphadaughters.com