The Age Shift: How Consumers Feel about Ageing

Published 29 January 2024

Author

Alex Daniel

8 min read

As people live longer lives and reconsider milestones, age no longer determines their interests, achievements or even necessarily their appearance. But outdated narratives about what should happen at each life stage remain prevalent in society. Forward-thinking brands are reassessing how they represent and relate to ageing, helping consumers adopt a healthier relationship to growing older.

Enter the Post-Age Society

Nostalgia as a Youth Coping Strategy

The Trouble with Relevance

Addressing Superficial Signals

As discussed in Future Consumer Life Cycle 24/25, many milestones associated with specific life stages are no longer fit for purpose. Consequently, many people are feeling freer to pivot their lifestyles and identities at any age. But this freedom is often impinged upon by enduring ageist mindsets, both internal and societal.

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Globally, 15% of Gen Zers would rather think about the past than the future (GWI, 2023). They’re splurging on things that help them recapture the innocence and playfulness of childhood. By spending on products they saw as kids (but couldn’t have), they may be trying to assert financial independence in the face of early adulthood’s challenges.

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Ageing out of the internet – the realisation that one no longer understands online discourse – is a new rite of passage, currently experienced most acutely by Gen Xers and millennials. But twentysomethings are starting to express similar sentiments, stoking demand for brands that allow people to feel current without needing to be embedded in trend cycles.

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As people spend more time looking at their faces on video calls or social media, the demand for cosmetic treatments is rising, especially among younger generations. Rather than being only skin-deep, the rising interest in and fear of visible signs of ageing speaks to an enduring undercurrent of ageism in mass culture.

The Age Shift: How Consumers Feel about Ageing

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Topics

Children & Youth

Brand Experience

Internet Culture

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