The Grey pound: How are you engaging them?

'The only growth market left in Britain is the mature market'.

The British Library Insider Trends highlighted this in their latest trend session as the one to watch out for. Now this trend has been talked about for the past decade but we are starting to really see the strength in this market place. With figures such as 'by 2020 the over 50's will form the majority of Britain's population' and 'the number of under 50's will remain or even fall whilst the over 50's will increase by 5 million' it's easy to see why.

As more and more brands go after the shrinking market of young consumers, the real opportunity lies with the older generation by creating products and services that are tailored to suit them. With an average spend of £202 each week (22% higher than 30-49 year olds) this market section is responbile for 45% of the UK's total consumer spending.

With brands such as M&S, John Lewis, Jacques Vert, N Brown, Bupa and even Apple all benefiting from this growth market, it's clear the opportunity is there but tapping in to this market place is no easy task. These consumers are astute and diverse with surprisingly different wants and needs. One size does not fit all.

As designers, marketers and brand leaders, knowledge is key. As part of our role and working process, this is where ethnographics, communities and interaction plays a massive role to help us understand different market sections.

Although a shift to a younger consumer was essential for the redesign of Clintons, the Grey Pound still represents a massive part of their customer base. By engaging with these customers to understand what was important to them, watching how they shop and identifying the growth categories we were able to create a space that was inclusive to all whilst ensuring the Grey Pound customers weren't alienated.

This approach to design has helped the new stores raise sales by up to 20.5% with some categories seeing increases of up to 35%.

This way of working has helped many of our clients connect with their customers on a personal level which in turn is helping to build their brand and helping them continue to grow, even in hard times. We are pleased this researched approach to design is proven and only helps back what we are doing as designers.

If you have a new challenge to understand your customers better, or even how to engage the Grey Pound consumer, then let's talk and see if we can help.