Consumers in Retirement

 My journey of discovery across Planet Retirement has demonstrated a desire to live simply, liberating myself of extraneous stuff to concentrate on the important matter of enjoying a purposeful life. Millennials, placed in a position where we are told they will never afford to buy their own homes, are doing likewise, refusing to accumulate a myriad of possessions in their rented rooms and preferring instead to spend any spare cash on travelling. At least  they are certainly going to transition into retirement easily when their time comes.

Figures reported yesterday, however, show that the closure of high street shops continues unabated. Walk down any main street in my locality and the number of premises boarded up or occupied by charities is alarming. With the failure of  multiple big names in recent months, it is clear that the change in retail therapy patterns is having an effect. Obviously parking issues and online shopping are creating some of the impact but so too it appears is our preference for spending that hard saved cash on experiences and vacations rather than on purchasing consumer goods or eating out.

Oh dear, although I do try to shop locally for essentials, I suspect that, like so many others in retirement, I am leading this trend, if you don't count lunches out, of course. Although, even there, a reunion with a good friend the other week was celebrated with a picnic despite the advancing season. 

For many, living frugally has become a necessity; for others, rejecting the mass consumerism and marketing which has escalated over the last 50 years is simply a lifestyle choice. Neither helps the high street which is struggling to adapt. What vision should we have for the town centres of the future and to what extent is the increasing retired demographic to blame?

Our local market town is fortunately surviving better than many and I would hesitate to guess, based on the apparent age of most shoppers, that it is currently the elderly that are contributing to its endurance and that it has been gradually altering its wares to suit them.

However, as the retired population becomes a more internet savvy generation and as we take more and more steps to save the planet by reducing consumption, what then? I'm guessing there will be a division between budget supermarkets, cheap pound and sweatshop-sourced clothing stores (assuming that plastic remains an available commodity) on the one hand and those offering high quality, long lasting, local, sustainably sourced or organic products on the other. Presumably, as now, the trend for the middle of the road national chains to struggle will continue and we'll see more accommodation, especially for the elderly, built in the centre of our smaller towns, in circumstances where the country's housing stock seems to be made up predominantly of detached four bedroomed houses on the outskirts or in rural villages.

Any thoughts?