“Billions to spend”: Why are SMEs ignoring the new ‘super consumer’?

I am a 53-year-old woman. I am a business owner. I have three young adult children who are breaking up with me. I am educated, intelligent, curious and constantly learning. I love to travel. I am happy to camp but equally happy to spend on luxury accommodation. I love nothing better than a day spa and a massage. I am focused on sustainable fashion. I look after my skin. I am fit, active, healthy and conscious of remaining so as I age. But let’s be very clear: I am not ‘old’ and I am not ‘invisible’. I feel youthful, energetic, sexy, confident and comfortable in my skin. I have a very close network of women friends who are in exactly the same stage of life as me. As a demographic, we have more time, money and freedom than we have ever had in our lifetimes. Forbes has dubbed us the new ‘Super Consumer’. 

Why is this relevant to you as a small to medium enterprise (SME)? Well, to be honest, the over-50s women demographic has the economic power to make or break you. 

And yet, you don’t see us, you don’t rate us and you are not courting us. Currently, you only spend between 5-10% of your marketing budget on us. More fool you.

So, consider this a friendly nudge — a call to action for every SME across every single industry — if we are not currently on your radar, you need to catch up, and quickly, because by failing to market to us at our level, you are leaving billions of our dollars on the table. 

Women as consumers

We are all well aware of the spending power of women per se. Globally, women represent a growth market twice as big as China and India combined. We currently control US$31.8 trillion in annual consumer spending. This figure is set to increase as more women enter the workforce. By 2028 it is projected that women will own 75% of all discretionary spending.

But here’s the thing that many brands don’t seem to understand: not all generations of women are the same. The 40% plus marketing spend you continue to funnel into attracting millennial women does not appeal to us over-50s gals. You need to segment. 

Moreover, you are making a mistake if you think that millennials are the growth consumer of the future. Between now and 2030, the 18-49 segment is expected to grow by more than 12%, whereas the 50+ segment will expand by more than 34%.

Getting your marketing right

For those brands that do currently market to us, please get it right. Research shows that the portrayal of those over 50s is negative 28% of the time, compared to only 4% of the time for younger generations.

Stop stereotyping us. A massive 70% of the time you portray us in isolated situations — often seated, alone, with a partner, or with a medical professional, or worse — we are patronised by being portrayed as simpering, smiling mothers swooping in to clean up the mess. Research shows 91% of us feel that marketers ignore us or don’t understand us. 

More about the new ‘Super Consumer’

If you need more convincing that it might be time to get this right, here’s a head start to understanding us and our power as the new ‘Super Consumer’:

• We have money — we are the largest demographic with incomes higher than $100,000
• We are responsible for more spending growth globally than any other generation (including millennials) with boomers accounting for more than half of all spending
• We are curious, 82% of us will try a new brand 
• We are furious, 64% of us have dropped brands that we feel ignore us
• We are purchasing for three generations
• We are working longer, holding more debt and maintaining budgets for travel and other discretionary pleasures
• We despise the term ‘mid-life’. Being ‘our age’ today is very different to when our mothers were ‘our age’ and worlds away from when our grandmothers were ‘our age’
• We are living longer — our average life expectancy is 85.40 years which gives us another 30 years of spending
• We are outliving our partners and our parents, which means many of us will experience a double inheritance windfall
• We are the primary buyers of computers, cars, banking, and financial services.

I could go on, but to be honest, I am feeling a little discontent after compiling these statistics. As a cohort, my friends and I have billions to invest in your products and services. Why don’t you get it?

Kate Christie is a time management and goal-setting expert and best-selling author.