Tomorrow's Consumers

In this 15th AMP.NATSEM Report, we make an attempt to
look forward at what will continue to be top of mind for
most consumers – spending money.
How will Australians spend their money in 2020 when most
of the Baby Boomers are in their retirement years? What
items will be more common on our supermarket shelves
and what kinds of shops are more likely to make up the
malls of the future?
What will be the implications of an ageing population on
business and the economy in general? And what will be the
savings and investment implications for individuals – both
younger Australians and those who will mostly have moved
into retirement?
As with any prediction about the future, the one thing we
know for sure is that we are likely to get it wrong. As the
British journalist Alistair Cooke once said, “Man has an
incurable habit of not fulfilling the prophecies of his
fellow men”.
However, if there is one thing it would be foolish to bet
against, it is the inevitability of demographic change and
the significance this will have on Australia’s future.