New research from Reuters Business Insight and TNS has revealed that advertisers are ignoring older consumers, despite the fact they are set to become the mainstream market.
This is the latest in a long line of studies to focus on consumers’ growing disquiet with advertising’s obsession with youth. Reuters claims that by 2006, the over-55s will account for more than half of the UK’s £104.4 billion food, drink and household product market.
However, marketers are consistently failing to connect with this lucrative group. According to a panel of 15,000 UK households, just 1 in 6 older consumers say they buy a product because of advertising. The research also revealed that older consumers are more likely to fast forward ads when watching programmes on video.
Few adverts help older shoppers make brand choices and only a third of over-55s claim to enjoy trying a new brand compared to 43% of younger consumers.
The over-55s are a distinctive market and are extremely loyal when it comes to buying British. However, the research disputes the often held assumption that older consumers will stick to established brands revealing they are only slightly more likely than younger consumers to stick with a product they like.
Commenting on the research, Ben Longman from Reuters Business Insight, said: “Just as with the main market the grey market is fragmenting rapidly. For marketers, the consumer’s age is only important in the context of other considerations such as consumer health, attitudes, disposable income and lifestyle. Marketers still have much to learn about senior consumers and have a lot to gain from getting it right.”
The recent Targeting Seniors Effectively study from Datamonitor revealed that although older people are the most affluent segment of European society, they are consistently overlooked by advertisers when it comes to product marketing.
