ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT CONTENTS THE ELASTIC WOMAN - 04 THE NEW POWER CONSUMER - 06 SINGLE LADIES - 11 AUDACIOUS STYLE - 16 ANTI ANTI-AGEING - 23 AGELESS RETAIL - 28 TACKLING WELLNESS TABOOS - 33 THESE WOMEN CAN - 38 WILD AT HEART - 44 TIMELESS CREATIVITY - 48 RETURNERS & ENCOREPRENEURS - 53 THE NEW URBANITES - 59 BOOMING TECH - 64 PURPOSEFUL LIVING - 69 A BETTER CONVERSATION - 73 METHODOLOGY - 78 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - 79 ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 02 Dee O’Dell, photographed by Anne Marie Sterian ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 03 INTRODUCTION THE ELASTIC WOMAN In 2015, we published our report The Elastic Generation. Accepted wisdom gives a very different picture of their upend the status quo. Ever the generation of rebels, they It turned the spotlight on a much misunderstood group lives, one that assumes infirmity and incompetence. are reinventing life past fifty, as they forge the path others of British people in their 50s and 60s that we believed George Lee, co-founder of the organisation The Age of will follow. merited greater attention from brands. Increased longevity No Retirement, describes a “narrative of decline” that and unprecedented financial clout combined with a refusal dogs those over fifty, characterised by “isolation, poverty, In the future, ageless living will become the norm for all of us, to grow old the way their parents had, made them “a force dementia and technological illiteracy.” as continuing advances in longevity make extended healthy to be reckoned with.” lives a reality. The women of the Elastic Generation are at When it comes to communications, brands are missing the vanguard of this change, which is creating possibilities Better known as the Baby Boomers, we chose to give them the mark. Back in 2015, our panel told us that it seemed for brands to better meet their needs and support their a new name, to capture an innate resilience, strength and all brands want to talk to them about is the end of life and ambitions. potential: hence ‘elastic’. Not that many in this group would physical decline: stairlifts, funeral plans and hearing aids. thank us for another label. Highly individual, strong-minded Their feelings today have not changed. The two words This new report, based on original primary research, aims to and sick of being stereotyped, they would argue that they women choose to describe advertising aimed at them? uncover these rich new seams of opportunity by shining a defy definition. ‘Patronising’ and ‘stereotyped’. As a result, 72% say they light on this complex and diverse group. We have identified pay no heed to advertising. Nine out of ten say they would a number of trends which reflect the multi-faceted nature Three years on, we are revisiting the Elastic Generation, this just like to be treated as a person, not a stereotype. of Elastic Generation women. While every woman is an time turning our focus on the UK’s women. Among what is individual, these are helpful themes and territories to still an emerging group, they are setting the precedent. Our collective understanding of what later life looks like start building understanding. And they point to enormous remains woefully outdated. Age no longer dictates the potential for innovation by brands that welcome and What did we find? Almost two-thirds of our female panel way we live. Physical capacity, financial circumstances and engage women in this group. From fashion to finance, from say they are enjoying life more than ever nowadays. These mindset arguably have far greater influence. And there’s no healthcare to leisure, brands in a multitude of categories women are defined by their confidence and authenticity: fixed pattern for how any of us grows older. have much to gain by thinking Elastic. eight out of ten say they care less now what others think of them than they did in their younger years, while 68% Elastic Generation women are hitting their fifties, sixties say they are more outspoken than they used to be. As our and even seventies and realising they might have decades trends will reveal, they are active, engaged and involved: of life left. They are living according to how they feel, pillars of family, community and society. They’re packing rather than how they ought, whether that means divorcing life to the full, not slowing down or withdrawing. So it’s a or dating, travelling or starting a business. As decision- Marie Stafford bitter irony that more than half of the women we polled makers, entrepreneurs, caregivers and creators, Elastic European Director, The Innovation Group should also feel that their age now makes them invisible Generation women continue to push the boundaries and J. Walter Thompson to society. ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 04 Alex Rotas, photographer and author and photographer Rotas, Alex “LIFE BEGINS AT ANY AGE YOU DECIDE LIFE BEGINS.” Alex Rotas ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 05 Fitbit THE NEW POWER CONSUMER ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 06 Alex Bruni for JD Williams, photographed by Wendy Carrig THE NEW POWER CONSUMER Make some room millennials, the new power consumer in Britain today is female and over 50. The over 50s outspent their younger counterparts for the first time in 2015, yet 67% of our panel told us they think advertisers only care about young people. Brands are missing out on a golden opportunity. Hitachi Capital UK and CEBR research than other age groups, and 66% more have revealed that the over 50s now than millennials.3 account for more than half of consumer spending in the UK, shelling out £376 Yet companies continue to put all billion on discretionary items in 2015 their eggs in just one basket. Data and accounting for more than 6% of from Goldman Sachs suggests that GDP.1 Compared to the under 50s, the 63% of businesses focus on targeting 4 report says, spending among the older millennials, despite evidence of a age group has grown three times faster “rebalancing of the economy…towards over the past decade, driven in part the silver pound,” as Hitachi/CEBR’s by greater life expectancy and labour report puts it. While millennials are 53% ENJOY market participation. clearly a crucial focus for brands too, the growth opportunity is with the over SPLASHING OUT The latest official government figures 50s. There’s an open goal being missed on consumer spending bear out the here. ON THINGS FOR research, revealing that the group aged 50-64 are the top spenders in a host of This is particularly the case when it THEMSELVES categories: from food to clothing; from comes to women. UK data from JWT’s household goods and services to new 2016 Women’s Index study suggests cars; from hotels abroad to eating out.2 that women over 50 control most This is a growing trend. A recent report of the purchase decisions in their by Coniq for Property Week based on households (78%) and in more than three years of data found that the over half of cases (55%), they are the main 5 50s spend 42% more on retail goods breadwinner too. ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 07 Melodie Holliday, by Jay Lee 2016 © ShadesofNoir Over half of our panelists were happy them, which translates into spending to admit that they enjoy splashing out of both time and money. Research on things for themselves these days. from SAGA has found that on average, But their spending is not dedicated grandparents give more than £9,000 exclusively to their own needs, boosting to each grandchild to cover deposits their influence as consumers. Older on property, education, holidays and women play a pivotal role at the heart more.7 Making them happy is key of the modern family, something that too. Skip-gen travel is an emerging is rarely acknowledged. Frequently trend that describes holidays where stereotyped as the carefree empty grandparents take the grandkids away, nester, in fact many women in the leaving Mum and Dad behind. Elastic age group are still supporting others: a fifth still have children at home Despite assuming the role of the while a quarter worry about caring for financial provider, this group is not elderly parents. The support extends spendthrift. In fact, Elastic women to grandchildren too. According to the are shrewd shoppers, who love getting charity Grandparentsplus, more than a bargain and are prepared to put one million working women rely on the legwork in to get one: 72% look grandparents for childcare.6 online regularly to compare prices and find deals. And according to Family is acutely important to these JWT’s Frontier(less) Retail report 81% women – eight out of ten say the older won’t make a shopping move without they get, the more family means to checking Amazon first.8 “I WOULD SAY I AM A SAVVY SHOPPER. I LIKE TO THINK I HAVE DONE MY HOMEWORK, ESPECIALLY WITH BIG DECISIONS... I WILL PAY FULL PRICE IF IT’S SOMETHING I REALLY LIKE AND WANT BUT OFTEN I WILL WAIT FOR A REDUCTION IN PRICE.” JWT Online Community ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 08 Nora Harper, photographed by Annie Lai ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 09 WHAT IT MEANS: 01. The Elastic woman is a crucially important consumer: is she in your brand’s blind spot? 02. Her family is more important than ever – play up her role at the heart of the family, not the empty nest. 03. Remember, she’s a savvy spender, happy hunting down a bargain, and she likes nothing better than to snag a great deal. ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 10 Spring/Summer 2017 Lingerie Portrait Series Featuring Mercy Brewer, photographed by Harry Were / Courtesy of Lonely SINGLE LADIES ELASTIC GENERATION THE FEMALE EDIT 11 SINGLE LADIES A new tribe of single women are reveling in their independence and freedom, living on their own terms and answering to no one.