By: The ILC Team

We all have a friend or relative at Christmastime who protests “there’s nothing I want” then proceeds to spend a fortune on other people’s gifts. In this blog, we take a look at the generational divide in gift-giving at Christmas time, and whether ageism has a role in picking the presents under the tree.

Hey, big spender…

Older people have significant spending power. In 2018, British older consumers aged 50 or over accounted for over half of total consumer spending(1) – and this figure is expected rise to almost two thirds by 2040.(2) This isn’t just a UK trend – across the G20, spending by older households is growing and in 2015 amounted to the combined GDP of Australia, Brazil, Canada and Japan.(3)

When it comes to Christmas, older consumers don’t hold back. In 2017, on average, grandparents had three grandchildren and spent £65 on each of them. Across the country, this translates to a national total of £1.4 billion.(4) The Silent generation (those born between 1928-1945) are predicted to spend an average of £660 on Christmas presents this year, which is more than any other generation. And this figure is growing – last year this generation was only second.(5)

Source: Finder 

… spend a little cash on me

But as we get older, we tend to give more gifts than we receive. A 2019 ¬YouGov survey found that nearly half of 18–25-year-olds and one in five people aged 35-44 receive more gifts than they give. However, for those aged 55 or older, this figure drops down to a mere 5%.(6)

Perhaps many of us get to a point where we think we have enough clothes and furniture, or don’t value consumer products in the way we did when we were younger, and so don’t want presents.(7) The fact spending on essential goods and services remains constant through retirement, while spending on non-essentials falls, could be used as evidence of this.(8)

But this is changing – people aged 50 or over have begun to shift their spending towards non-essential purchases.(9) Older people are now one of the biggest purchasers of toys; for example, Lego has saw a four-fold increase in the size of the adult market over the past decade.(10)

Does ageism therefore have a part to play in the empty stocking left for our older family members? And not just from individuals – several studies have found that older people don’t feel targeted by advertising and marketing campaigns.(11) In fact, according to a 2019 AARP study, older Americans are seven times more likely to be portrayed negatively than those under 50 in online ads.(12)

What happens next?

Maybe then, it’s not that simply that we want for less as we get older, but that there are fewer products designed for us to want.

If it’s true that physical products don’t appeal as much to older generations, why not target gift experiences at this demographic? For example, Europa-Park (a theme park in Germany) offers a discounted price for over 60+s. On the flipside, despite watching more TV than younger people, older generations are less likely to buy premium tv packages and streaming, which seems a huge, missed opportunity for marketing.

It may be that this kind of gift giving promotes more than just festive cheer. Fewer products and more experiences mean less wrapping paper, fewer ugly ties thrown immediately in the bin and more physical activity being encouraged.

So then, tis’ the season for marketing and advertising creatives to start listening to and considering the needs, wants and preferences of older consumers. And perhaps for us to leave that tie on the shelf…

References

1. https://ilcuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Maximising-the-longevity-dividend.pdf
2. https://ilcuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Maximising-the-longevity-dividend.pdf
3. https://ilcuk.org.uk/healthequalswealth/
4. https://www.wearejust.co.uk/news/how-much-do-you-spend-on-the-grandchildren-at-christmas
5. https://www.finder.com/uk/christmas-shopping-statistics
6. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/consumer/articles-reports/2019/12/20/one-five-spend-over-500-christmas-presents
7. https://ilcuk.org.uk/lockdown-not-shutdown-unlock-longevity-dividend-post-pandemic/
8. https://ilcuk.org.uk/understanding-retirement-journeys-expectations-vs-reality/
9. https://ilcuk.org.uk/maximising-the-longevity-dividend/
10. https://ilcuk.org.uk/time-to-play/
11. https://www.aarp.org/work/working-at-50-plus/info-2021/ageism-in-advertising.html
12. https://www.aarp.org/work/working-at-50-plus/info-2021/ageism-in-advertising.html