Marketers need to stop pushing age stereotypes or risk marking themselves as ‘ageist’.

These and other finding emerged from a multi-part research project including a quantitative study of 2,000 respondents aged 18 – 70+, representative of the UK population which covered attitudes to age and age stereotyping, attitudes to life and lifestyle, and the importance of Intergenerational (Age-Friendly) Design in everyday life and across product categories.

The quant research was followed by an in-depth ethnographic study conducted by Flamingo UK, which involved spending time with a variety of people during their everyday lives to provide real-life insight and bring the core themes identified in the quant study to life.

The research revealed that;

• 83% of people feel they are not like everyone else in their age group and want to mix with people from different age groups and generations
• 89% of young people and 84% of the older generation rely on the Internet and both generations use online shopping in equal measure
• 80% across all generations value above all, products and services that are safe and secure, clear and intuitive, free of time pressures, delightful and accessible.

I’ve been beating this drum for years, but here is more proof that people (AKA, consumers) are no longer similar by demographic. This has huge implications for brands, companies and providers of products and services targeted to specific age groups.

There is more that unites than divides us across generations. But the thing that clearly distinguishes older consumers is their physiological decline. Brands need to understand these insidious physical impairments and to accomodate for them in each touchpoint across the customer journey. We call this approach, a “Lifetime Customer Experience” where a brand becomes completely age-inclusive.

Try our free AF Brands iPad app to check how prepared your business is for the ageing consumer.