The Dankai Generation

The so-called Dankai generation of baby boomers born after the second world war are starting to turn 60 in Japan. Hardly a big deal unless you consider the fact that over the next three years, these retiring grand-folks will mean a 10% drop in the Japanese labor force thus impacting government tax revenue immensely. How will Japan adjust to such a drastic drop in productivity and revenue? That remains to be seen, but what interest me more was this little statistical tidbit: The average nest egg for the retiring Dankai is…ready for this….50 million yen. That’s about half a million dollars to you and me. Imagine that: 6.8 million retirees with bulging bank accounts looking to do what comes naturally to every Japanese: Shop. I’m not sure if anyone has done a study the impact the Dankai will have on online sales, but my guess is that we will see an increase of activity in leisure, hobby related goods, health & wellness and online investing. All of these categories are well represented in the affiliate marketing space, so I anticipate more offers targeting the Dankai generation. Yes, the next three years in Japan may see higher taxes and labor shortages, but I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, so my eyes and ears are focused on the Dankai and their desire to spend, spend and spend.