National Senior Citizens Day has come again and it continues to serve as an important reminder for manufacturers. The need for senior citizen-friendly packaging is still on the rise, so we invite you to join us in paying tribute to the most seasoned consumers.
Why Heed the Need for Senior Citizen-Friendly Packaging?
In the United States alone, there are over 46 million Americans age 65 or older. This figure is projected to more than double to 98 million by 2060. Meanwhile, the life expectancy of U.S. adults has increased from 68 years in 1950 to 79 years in 2013.
As life expectancy trends increase, it provides a solid explanation as to why senior populations are also growing. It also means senior citizen-friendly packaging is even more important because these seniors will potentially be part of your consumer base for a longer period of time.
Who are Senior Consumers?
The best way to reach any market demographic is to understand their circumstances. For senior citizens, be sure to consider the following:
- For a number of reasons, many seniors tend to be choosy with the product purchases they make.
- As one potential explanation for choosiness, many seniors are dependent on social security and they have been squeezed; social security has lost 23% of its buying power since 2000.
- Many seniors are struggling with some loss of eyesight. This often means difficulty reading small print, but it can also involve decreased color clarity (particularly with pastels and blues).
- Aging consumers often suffer from joint pain or stiffness, limiting dexterity and making everyday tasks more difficult.
- As of 2014, 28% of seniors live alone (8.8 million women and 3.8 million men).
- On the other hand, 2.7 million grandparents are raising their grandchildren in the U.S.
Packaging for an Aging Consumer Demographic
If you see the demographic trends as a challenge or you are uncertain about how to be responsive to market demands, don’t worry! With the following best practices for senior citizen-friendly packaging, we can help your packaging stand out and perform well.
Cost-conscious options. If you aim to keep your product affordable while watching your bottom line, we know several ways to help. From stock options to lightweight and much more, customers can save on their costs and employ techniques to provide a better fit for tighter consumer budgets, too.
Optimized labels and decoration. Unfortunately, many aging consumers may think they have seen it all even though they are now seeing less. This means it may be a challenge to stand out on the shelf, but this is where our experience in package decoration comes into play. We can help you put together a subtle and effective mix of larger text and bold colors, so your senior citizen-friendly packaging has optimal visibility.
Resealable and portion-savvy features. These packaging options appeal to consumers for a number of reasons, especially to those who may buy a larger container because of its value. Resealable and portion-savvy features help your product stay fresher longer, maintain its usability, and thereby keep consumers more satisfied.
Easy-to-open and safe packaging. It may be one of the most significant challenges in providing senior citizen-friendly packaging, but our team can help. You can count on our broad selection of closures, our insights into packaging trends, and our diligence when it comes to staying current with consumer protection measures.
Tests for packaging. Your best approach to packaging is an informed approach, and this is why we look to testing to provide insight. As one example, senior-friendliness testing can provide a fairly rigorous look into both ease of use and safety.
In order for a package to be considered senior-friendly, at least 90% of the adults in the testing group must be able to open the package. If the package is reclosable, the adults in the testing group must also be able to properly close the child-resistant package within 5 minutes. These same packages are given to children, who have 10 minutes to open the product.
We recognize the importance of age-appropriate packaging. This means considerations for how a senior uses the product and protections for grandchildren who may be present.
Get Packaging for the Modern Age
With 15% of the U.S. population comprised of people who are 65 or older, your brand should not and likely cannot afford to ignore the need for senior citizen-friendly packaging. If you do pursue packaging solutions for seniors, you can enjoy both increased customer satisfaction and the business benefits that follow.
Contact us to get started today.
