Summary and Outlook

The point of departure of the present work is elderly people. In the last decade, the proportion of elderly people in the overall population has remarkably increased in all industrialised countries including Germany (the present country focus). Thus the importance of the group that elderly people form is continuously increasing, especially on the economic level, as they shape a present and future purchasing power. The companies are thus compelled to adjust to the changing needs and requirements of elderly consumers if they want to survive and have chances in present and future markets. Market research methods are a substantial tool for companies to listen to their consumers and produce products that consumers want and need. Accordingly, those methods need to be adapted to elderly consumers to enhance their effectiveness in collecting the required data and hence produce products that elderly people need and want to buy.