First, whilst growth continues in the number of people in most coun-tries, the rate of growth has reduced substantially over the last half-century. We can attribute this to lower birth rates, fertility levels and socio-economic changes, such as the full participation of women in the paid labour force. For retailers it means that they can no longer rely on previous assumptions of ‘natural’ population growth to increase market size.
Secondly, whilst the population may (just) still be growing, there has been a fundamental shift in its age composition. The decline in the birth rate, coupled with a reduction in child mortality, longer life expectancy and improved medical care, has resulted in a much more ‘elderly’ population structure than before. Even though large numbers of this elderly population are more affluent and active than previous generations, retailers still have to consider how they respond to this and other population segments. The retail offer has to be adjusted to