The inhabitants of Costa Rica have a problem right in front of us: we lack an adequate approach to address and give the best quality of life to the older people.
Well, actually it’s one of the many problems we need to solve.
Furthermore, we must solve this difficulty as soon as possible, since we already know that in the coming years the number of people over 60 years of age will increase, and some of them, with astonishing longevity.
On March 26, the journalist Juan Pablo Ferrari in his article “Fired at 57: Why are companies ignoring senior talent?“He raised several ideas that caught my attention and piqued my interest.
Ferrari mentioned that he has observed how marketing strategies are obsessed with eternal youth and pointed out the mistake we make when addressing the issue of older people: see and approach old age with fragility.
The data
Let’s review some data. In particular, I speak to companies, so that they take note of their audience regardless of whether they sell products or services.
According to the document Population estimates and projections, published by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), this year there are 5.21 million inhabitants in Costa Rica. Of that total, there are 904,807 people aged 60 or over, that is, 17.3% are already retired or are very close to being so.
The same INEC document tells us that, Within 15 years, that percentage will be 25.6% in a total population that would barely increase by 4% in that period.
We can see it from another point of view: the demographic dependency ratio, which also shows us an increase in those over 60 compared to those of working age (from 15 to 64). That measurement would increase by 11.16 percentage points by 2041.
We could affirm that in 2041 we would then have, For every ten people, about three would not be of working age because they are already over 65. But Yes, they would be of age to enjoy.
The market looks to the side
Let us remember that these people they will have income and time to spend that money. Not all of these resources are spent on medicines, since They are consumers who also indulge and they buy entertainment, gifts for loved ones, items for personal use and the occasional bottle of some exotic and subversive liquor.
That’s why it makes me angry when supermarkets make the fine print even smaller. And worse when the paper with the information is almost on the ground and with an inclination towards it. They simply do not care about providing information to their consumers, nor do they pay attention to their age.
Also for supermarkets, double points when they direct customers to the self-checkouts, where their machines often refuse to work or you have to figure out the blessed codes of the items. Let’s think for a moment: it seems rude to me that older people are made to worry about finding the code for an avocado.
Fast food restaurants install screens to place orders. Although some keep their staff behind the counter, many practically force their customers to interact with a software.
What about financial applications? Between the fear of a typing error and the panic of scamsthey become untouchable for older people. Surely, you know someone who manages the accounts of their parents or grandparents, because the owners of those accounts do not dare to do so.
Not to mention marketing on social networks or the focus that coffee shops have on young people. Although they are filled with diners with gray hair, it is clear that lack a value added approach for “big people”, and much less for their caregivers.
Bias is not innocent; can be named as pro-youth (youth bias) the idea, as deep-rooted as it is wrong, that older people are loyal to their brands and do not need to be conquered.
In Costa Rica, ignoring this segment is not only an error in strategic vision; it’s almost a form of corporate irresponsibility disguised as modernity. The country is aging without a comprehensive public plan, but also without the private sector having designed a single notable campaign aimed at that public. Who sells accessible technology to Costa Rican seniors? Who offers you consumer credit with fair rates and legible handwriting? Who designs physical spaces where you don’t have to call your grandson to understand the restaurant menu?
Demographics do not ask permission. Companies that today ignore that market will, with all due respect, be looking for clients in a segment that It will have been conquered by those who had the intelligence – and the decency – to arrive first.
The market and its content managers should take notebefore it’s too late to apologize.
smorales@elfinancierocr.com
Sergio Morales is Editor-in-Chief of ‘El Financiero’.
