Perennials: the market that’s laying silver eggs

By 2050 the world’s population will count more than two billion people who are over 60 years of age. Breaking this down in percentages, according to the IPSOS Mori report: Perennials. The Future of Ageing, at a global level, the number of over-60s will increase from 13% of the population in 2017 to 21% in 2050. This upsurge will be even bigger in developed countries such as Germany (from 28% to 38% in the same period), Japan (from 33% to 42%) and Italy (from 34% to 40%).

But this long-term demographic shift toward an older population doesn’t mean prejudice against old age is a thing of the past. It was back in 1969 when the gerontologist Robert Butler coined the term ageism to describe discrimination toward older people, but the attitude remains widespread even today. This is partly because of a biased representation of old age, along with a clear tendency to marginalize the elderly in popular culture. Case in point: in a study of 2000 films, what emerges from analyzing the dialogues is that among over-65 actors, just 5% of all the speaking lines were given to men and only 3% to women.

So what looks like two contrasting trends are underway: the number of older people is actually growing, yet this age group is seen from a prejudiced perspective, when they are seen at all. And these trends seem to permeate the business world as well, revealing a number of opportunities that have yet to be fully explored.

In 2015, for the first time ever in the UK, the over-50 consumers outspent the rest of the population, earning the title of power consumers. Likewise, in France, the US and Italy, people aged 65 to 74 have seen a double-digit rise in their disposable incomes in recent years, compared with an appreciable decline for the 25-29 age group. So clearly the market belongs to the Perennials, and it’s destined to grow even more in the coming decades.

But despite all this, we still rarely see older people in advertising. And when do they appear, they’re often stereotyped to accentuate what they lack on a physical, cognitive, or sexual level, and simply act as comic relief. According to a recent study by Campaign Magazine, more than 80% of the people who work in the sector admit that the advertising world has a problem with ageism.

So it should come as no surprise that among over-55s, more than four out of five (82% to be exact) say that their favorite retail brands no longer understand their needs. Over half wanted more friendly stores where there’s no pressure to buy (55%), stores that welcome people of all ages and sizes (54%), places where they enjoy spending their time (50%).

In order to fully exploit the market of the Perennials, it’s becoming more and more vital for companies to factor into their offerings the needs and perspectives of this target. They also have to move beyond stereotypes on ageing, avoid stigmatizing representations, and work on the self-perceptions of older people. Often, this means overhauling not only how products are marketed, but even how they are designed: adding features that make products easy to use and make consumers self-sufficient (home delivery, clear instructions, easy-to-open packaging). All these tweaks could actually turn out to be upgrades not only for Perennials, but for all consumers.