From DIY To DIFM, Boomers Lead New Trend

With the latest technologies unveiled this month at CES in Las Vegas, there was plenty of buzz about the newest ways to automate a variety of our day-to-day tasks. Not surprisingly, Boomers are ready to take advantage of these innovative products as part of the surging “do it for me” (DIFM) trend.

In 2015, The Home Depot heralded this trend, telling investors that over-50 consumers were increasingly opting for services over hardware, creating a DIFM trend to replace the DIY trend, which they helped establish at an earlier stage of their lives.

Home Depot wasn’t the only company to recognize a shift in consumer needs. Amazon’s Echo is a hands-free device you control with your voice that performs an ever-increasing variety of functions—it plays music and audiobooks; controls household lights, switches and thermostats; provides information, news, sports and weather; and orders pizza or a car from Uber.

Boomers are enthusiastically responding to the ability to outsource tasks. They certainly know it’s possible to live actively into their 80s and 90s, but they also know that time is valuable and not limitless. In typical Boomer fashion, they are pioneering the DIFM trend because it gives them the freedom to maximize life’s potential by creating more time to pursue what they consider most important. While there’s no question this trend has cross-generational appeal, Boomers are uniquely qualified to lead it as they have the money to afford it.

Companies across most product and service sectors have an opportunity to leverage the shift toward DIFM. Here are four business categories that are innovating to help Boomers save time and energy.

• Home Maintenance Automated home cleaning products help consumers automate housekeeping, including robots that clean floors, windows, gutters and grills.
• Healthcare In-home or telemedicine services eliminate the drive to a doctor’s office and the time patients often spend in doctor’s waiting rooms. The ability to have a doctor visit in-home or provide more immediate diagnosis remotely can eliminate the stress of scheduling an appointment, particularly for patients in remote areas. Telehealth services can also improve treatment, as they allow doctors and experts to participate in treatment or consultation regardless of location without requiring the patient to travel.
• Meal Preparation A variety of services deliver meal kits and recipes to the home, allowing consumers to cook dinner without the hassle of shopping, meal planning and food preparation. Many guarantee fresh ingredients, free delivery, and menus that are personalized based on dietary preferences, which not only saves time and money, but also aims to improve the home cooking and dining experience.
• Financial Services Online investment services are using algorithms and automation to provide personalized investment advice to investors that can reduce the time and strife often associated with DIY investing, along with the potential to gain higher rates of return.

Boomers are always in search of ways to improve their lives, and marketers have been answering that call for decades. In 2017 and beyond, companies that provide products and services that help Boomers create more time and energy to devote to what’s truly important will garner their attention and earn their business.

This article was originally published on MediaPost.