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October 3, 2025
Are Senior Discount Programs Antiquated?
Some retailers and food establishments offer senior discounts all the time, others one day a week or month, and many not at all.
Restaurants, retailers, and other businesses offering discounts are promoted by articles by AARP and seniorliving.org, newspaper outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, tourism sites such as iloveny.com, and niche websites such as theseniorlist.com. The discounts generally start between the ages of 50 to 55 although many start at 65. Some are only accessible through AARP membership.
Among retailers called out for generous senior discounts are Kohl’s (15% off purchases on Wednesdays, 60+); Ross Dress for Less (10% off on Tuesday, 55+); Michael’s (10% off purchases everyday using Michael’s rewards account, 55+); and Walgreen’s (20% off purchases on first Tuesday of every month for MyWalgreens members, 55+). LensCrafters offers 30% off sunglasses and 30% off non-prescription sunglasses with AARP membership.
Many grocers offer senior discounts one day a week or month. Denny’s, IHOP, Chili’s, McDonald’s, and Papa John’s are several restaurants known for offering senior discounts.
Among major retailers not offering a senior discount program are Costco, Target, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Best Buy.
Walmart doesn’t offer a senior discount on purchases, but offers $40 off Walmart+ Annual Membership for AARP members. Amazon also doesn’t offer a senior discount program, but offers about half-off Prime membership for those under government assistance programs, such as Medicaid, SNAP, or SSI.
Kroger had reportedly offered a 10% discount on store brands to shoppers 59 and older, but began quietly phasing it out in 2017. A Kroger spokesperson told the Houston Chronicle at the time, “Over the years the marketplace has evolved. As a result, there are programs we’ve added, modified or ended.”
The spokesperson noted that discounts are available through coupons available in print, online, and on the Kroger app, but didn’t indicate why the program ended. Seniors talking to the Chronicle said store staff told them abuse was the reason for program ending, with one admitting that their adult children had used her Kroger ID number to secure a discount.
Kroger still offers senior discounts on certain days as part of special promotions.
Senior Discounts: A Relic (or Unfair Advantage), or a Valuable Savings for Seniors?
In a blog entry, Jeff Weiss, president and CEO of Age of Majority, a marketing agency focused on the over-55 crowd, called for ending the senior discount. He said such discounts “only serves to propagate the myth that older consumers have no money,” calling out stats that those over 55 control more than 70% of the nation’s wealth.
Weiss also said older people may be offended if a business asked them if they’re old enough to qualify for a discount. He wrote, “As we get more comfortable with our age and getting older in general, many active aging consumers don’t want to be singled out as being different. What if you were asked if you wanted a discount because of your race or religion?”
A recent “The Ethicist” column in The New York Times explored whether senior discounts are a fair perk for the aging or a “relic from previous generations, when seniors had the highest rate of poverty of any age group.”
Columnist Kwame Anthony Appiah wrote that similar to younger adults only having access to free primary and secondary education, “senior discounts aren’t really poverty-relief programs; they’re benefits tied to particular life stages, available to all who reach them.”
Discussion Questions
Do you find offering senior discounts to be a worthwhile promotion for retailers and restaurants or antiquated and somewhat discriminatory?
Do you (or would you once you qualify) use senior discounts personally?
Poll
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A senior discount is simply a targeted promotion designed to influence the spending of a specific group. Other examples include discounts for students, recent movers, or new parents. I don’t see any of these as antiquated. Their effectiveness, however, depends on the retailer applying them, the customer mix, and the objectives hoping to be achieved. Objectives may include capturing greater share, driving trade into a quieter trading period, securing loyalty and so forth.
Where senior discounts differ from other targeted discounts is that they can be time-constrained during specific slower periods of the day, which benefits the provider by smoothing out demand and keeping their business busier during earlier periods. As such, these discounts likely make more sense than those aimed at other demographics.
I’m not sure I’d say they’ve become antiquated, as the deficiencies – they’re discriminatory – have always been there…in fact they’re integral to the whole concept!
That having been said, I think the real question is “are they going to go away?” And the answer is “no”.
Welcome to Operations 101. Senior discount programs aren’t charity; they’re off-peak pricing strategies. Age correlates with schedule flexibility. Kroger’s 2017 elimination was about abuse and margins, not evolution. In reality, time-constrained senior discounts are demand smoothing, student discounts are customer acquisition investments buying future lifetime value, and military discounts are marketing spend with focused optics.
The solution is clarity, not sentiment. Rebrand time-based senior discounts as “flexible schedule discounts” available to anyone shopping off-peak. More broadly, instead of getting trapped in inertia by offering discounts because everyone else does, establish your pricing strategy in accordance with your business strategy.
Senior discounts… This is a great promotion for a segment of the customer/consumer population. Yes, they are still relevant and not antiquated.
And would I or do I use senior discounts? YES!
Are senior discount programs antiquated? You mean like the people they benefit? #facepalm
It’s an honor to be able to grow old, and if retailers want to celebrate that, I’m all in. And yes, I know that people over 50 control more than 70% of the nation’s wealth, but that’s doesn’t mean it applies to every senior citizen. Living on a limited income, without any other means to earn more, isn’t a picnic. If retailers can help make life a little easier for these customers, why not?
I can’t recall any older relative of mine, some on fixed incomes, ever complaining about feeling singled out or shamed by senior discount programs. Nearly every shopper loves a deal, while some really could use it.
No. They are not at antiquated but are a highly useful part of a store existing within a society and likely contribute to store profits through effects which accumulate, but are difficult to calculate. That said, they also aren’t a way to build instant new store strength by adding them to an operation which hasn’t had them before. In may ways, they are a communication with a specific portion of a store’s audience and highly effective as such.
I believe senior discounts are still a worthwhile promotional tool—especially for businesses serving communities with significant retiree populations—but they’re not without trade-offs. Properly structured, they can build goodwill, stimulate off-peak traffic, and reinforce loyalty among customers often on fixed incomes. But if poorly implemented, they risk seeming patronizing or even discriminatory—particularly if “senior” becomes a blunt proxy regardless of income, or if screening for age feels awkward for customers.
Personally, I (and many in my cohort) would use a senior discount when I qualify. But the value of the discount depends heavily on transparency, ease of access, and equity. If it requires cumbersome registration, proof of age at checkout, or only applies to limited items or times, many will stop seeing it as a benefit. A better version might be offering “off‐peak” or “flexible schedule” discounts that any shopper (senior or not) can access, or embedding the age-based discounts seamlessly into loyalty systems so that the customer doesn’t feel singled out.
If retailers choose to offer senior discounts, the key is to do so in a way that feels inclusive—not condescending—and operationally clean. Making it easy to redeem (e.g. automatic at checkout, no special codes needed), clearly communicating the criteria, and limiting abuse are all essential. When done right, senior discounts can reinforce the brand’s reputation for caring and drive modest incremental sales—especially in segments sensitive to price.
Is the question intentionally provoking? It’s target marketing with the ICP clearly defined. How it’s executed will determine how well it’s received, but given the size of the senior market, it continues to be an attractive segment for many industries.
Many of the current methods retailers and brands connect with seniors seem to be working. There will always be opportunities to improve marketing tools to segmented customers, whether in print, digital or in-store. But if the sales lifts are working, loyalty numbers look solid, and they create community and connection with happy customers, then keep doing it.
Senior discount programs raise a simple but important question about how brands see older customers. What began as a kind gesture years ago now feels outdated for many people. Today’s older shoppers are active, independent, and often have enough spending power. They want to be treated like regular customers, not as a group that needs special help.
For retailers, this is a good time to think differently about loyalty. Instead of focusing on discounts based on age, they can build connections through better service, thoughtful experiences, and community programs. The idea should be to make older customers feel valued and included, not defined by their age.