Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 25, 1992 TAG: 9203250068
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In the 21st century, "fortunes will be made by businesses looking for markets where no one else expects to find them."
The forecast is from Judith Waldrop, a former city planner and now research editor of American Demographics magazine.
It is, for instance, predictable that there will be fewer children in the next century because of declining birth rates, she said.
But that shouldn't prompt a conclusion that toy sales will go into a spin.
Instead, Waldrop told a meeting of the Advertising Federation of the Roanoke Valley on Tuesday, the so-called baby boomers by 2000 - then age 35 to 54 - will be the doting and generous grandparents.
But the baby boomers "can never go home again" because of the rate of change. They will become customers for theme parks, publications and restaurants that re-create the America remembered from their youth.
In the 21st century, Waldrop said, "all of the Sierra Club's wishes will come true." Virtually everyone will consider himself or herself an environmentalist, so environmental aspects of products will become increasingly important.
"Big cities are going to be big disasters," according to Waldrop. Housing and public works will lag population growth, and traffic volume will double, mostly on urban roads.
Commuters stuck in traffic jams lasting several hours will install fax machines and microwaves in their cars, calling them home. "It's happening in Los Angeles now," Waldrop said.
Adults without fear of computers will read printouts instead of books or newspapers.
Just as people now zap commercials on their taped television programs, she said, they will read the news on video screens, calling up only the stories and advertisements that interest them. "The only way to get them [21st century consumers] to read your message is to research them," she warned.
Life in the next century will be leisure-oriented "because of a crack in the work ethic. Americans want a break from work, and they're willing to pay for it."
Waldrop said people will patronize services that stress speed, but merchants may get a break. One in five Americans, she said, considers shopping a leisure activity.
With the baby boomers past the age of 40, Waldrop said, wellness will become a priority. Low-fat, low-calorie food will be in demand, along with "designer foods" aimed at specific diseases.
Whether businesses are peddling a convenience food or a Caribbean cruise, Waldrop said, "be sure your customers know it's the doctor's orders."
Through 2020, she said, the market will be ripe for travel, leisure pursuits and education for retirees.
Waldrop described a shrinking 21st century workplace where applicants outnumber positions. The best and the brightest, she said, will compete with their former bosses by finding a niche for self-employment.
Everyone will belong to a minority, Waldrop said, as immigration and birth rates reduce the white majority. Hispanics will overtake blacks as the largest minority, but "no group will represent a majority of Americans."
Those who grow up with working mothers, neighbors speaking foreign languages and teachers preaching about the environment will accept new life and work styles, Waldrop said.
She predicted that people who live together will be recognized as families, even for inheritance and property settlement.
by CNB