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It is contended that the theory and practice of qualitative research is an integral part of a comprehensive marketing course. Both postgraduate and undergraduate students of marketing may be expected to be familiar with, and have experience of, qualitative techniques. Focus groups are arguably the most frequently employed qualitative technique, and as such are used as a starting point for the study of qualitative research. Their accepted advantages of speed, flexibility and economy, together with the rich data generated, make qualitative methods eminently suitable for student research, with its attendant limitations on time and money. A detailed practical guide to the procedures for planning, conducting and analysing focus groups is presented.

This review of the literature concerning the older consumer discusses the reasons for the neglect of this large, lucrative and growing market by practitioners and academics in the fields of consumer affairs, marketing and gerontology. The authors consider the effects of continuing to ignore these ‘forgotten consumers’, and the possible benefits of recognizing and supplying the important market they constitute.

In this paper the authors focus on the Methuselah Market, defined as those people within five years of retirement age. Demographic change over the last 100 years has led to a substantial increase in the proportion of the population in the older, near retirement age group. Yet as consumers the needs of this sector of the population have been neglected by marketers. The size, characteristics and potential of the Methuselah Market are discussed, and specific product areas of particular interest to this market are identified. A further paper will be published in the November issue reviewing the decision-making process of the older consumer and indicating specific marketing strategies relevant to the Methuselah Market.

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