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When 76 year old Australian Fred Loew wants to heat up his dinner in his microwave, he hits the ‘cook potato’ preset button. And in the U.S, 80-year-old Martha Smith boils a cup of water by turning the dial to the popcorn setting and hitting start. Martha has to do this three times to make a cup of tea.

In fact, both Fred and Martha are masters of various microwave recipes all measured in terms of potatoes and popcorn.

Wealth management partner at Deloitte, Sarah Woodhouse explains, "In Australian and in the US, 70-80 year olds are part of the fastest growing sub-segment of the 50+ population who are trying to adapt to new products that have not been designed with their needs in mind.

"Global consumer product and service companies that start now to assess, adjust, and update their product offerings to best serve this evolving and increasingly influential age market will be far more likely to grow their consumer base and to reap the rewards."

Sarah Woodhouse says, "The lessons for Australian wealth & asset management industries, as well as consumer industries, are there. In the USA the 80 million baby boomers and 75 million so-called ‘traditionalist’ consumers (born pre 1945) are leading the way.

"This asset and cash rich sector wants products and services that accommodate them. Fred and Martha and their microwave adaptations are just a case in point.

"The clear message for us in Australia to retain and build this mature aged wealth segment, is to be mindful above all of personal relevance when considering psychological, social, biological and economic factors.

"If we don’t recognise existing knowledge and experience when it comes to devising new products and services, we do so at our peril", she said.

The Deloitte report, ‘Wealth with wisdom - serving the needs of ageing consumers’ identifies new principles and a useful framework to better understand the emerging age 50 plus consumer market across the world.

It shows global population trends by age group and sex from the US to China and this segment’s interest in personal relevance across the framework.

Sarah Woodhouse says, "Currently one in ten people are more than 60 years old. By 2050 this will double to one in five people over 60. The Centre for Aging in London estimates that by 2020, there will be nearly 700 million elderly (age 65+) individuals in the world with 70 percent of this population in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania.

"The Australian Bureau of Statistics predicts the population aged 65 years and over will increase from 2.5 million in 2002, to between 6.1 and 11.7 million in 2101. As a proportion of the population, this is an increase from 13% to between 29% and 32%.

"The challenges in delivering health care, drugs, transportation, food, and other supplies to these aging populations are expected to severely stress the political economies of many developing countries, and the developed regions will face the challenges of pension and health care programs which are already stressed in many countries.

"In Australia the opportunities for this burgeoning 50+ market, in real estate, holidaying and consumer spending including fashion and cell phones, are enormous."

The Deloitte report shows that age 65 and over consumers are the most affluent of any age segment, with many having multiple income sources and multiple assets.

Over 50s account for almost half the total consumer spending and they also account for nearly half of the market share in (a) personal insurance and pensions; (b) transportation; (c) health; (d) housing; and (e) food.

Deloitte report - Wealth and wisdom: Serving the needs of ageing consumers