Does Invisibility Come With Age?
The beauty of being a woman as the French say, ‘of a certain age’, is that I can be invisible. Young people, both men and women look right through me, unless I make the effort to be noticed.
Going into a department store today in search of suitable clothing is not a great experience for the over sixties. Being born in the 50s to the generation known as Baby Boomers, I do fall into that category it is true, but I don’t feel very different than I did twenty or thirty years ago, am not overweight, and believe that looking good makes me feel better about life in general. Is the commercial world set up primarily for younger people – or is it just our perception?
A big equalizing factor that has changed the fashion business over the past few decades has meant that certain clothes are now acceptable across the generations, resulting in someone of my age being able to dress in a similar manner to my daughter and even granddaughter. As while the sizes, shapes, and styles vary somewhat, basically all three family members can wear similar outfits consisting of jeans, sweatshirts, and trainers.
High end retailers have a different outlook. The very expensive (and off limits to the majority) retailers who see their main clientele as the ‘older woman’, who is in a position to pay out substantial amounts of money to buy something that isn’t run of the mill and can be tailored to hide the signs of an older, well lived in body.
It is undoubtedly a young people’s world and the truth is it probably always has been throughout time, and possibly has to be this way. Young people are naturally more energic, have bigger dreams, more ideals, great enthusiasm and are eager to try out new ideas. In today’s world of inexpensive clothing, which can almost be classed as disposable, retailers have a perfect market to which to cater. Why indeed should they try and placate an older audience, which is likely to be fussier about the quality and value of the garment?
This is not only confined to buying clothes however, as in today’s rapidly changing world of technology, I know many people in my age group who feel quite intimidated when having to buy a new piece of equipment. The people behind the counters in phone shops for example are young, bright, and know their products inside out. Someone coming along from their grandparent’s generation is often labelled, on sight, as not being able to grasp all the details about the item they are buying. I have also felt in the past that they were trained to speak at an extra fast rate in order to add to our confusion. In fact – I admit to one time asking my son to come with me to ensure that I understood exactly what the terms of my purchase would be. (Mind you I must add that we don’t live in the UK, so the language is often another barrier for me).
However, I for one am not going to let myself be ignored or ‘unseen’. I am 67 still working, trying to keep fit (bigger challenge these past few Corona months) and feel entitled to spend my earnings in any way I wish. On behalf of my generation I feel that we need to stand up for ourselves, demand that our needs are met in the world of consumerism and lose our perception that we are considered invisible. I am as noticeable as anyone else in the consumer market and refuse to be treated as anything other than a valuable customer. In fact, as an earner with lower expenses than my children’s generation I should be considered as a prime target market for many industries..
I was pleased to see after a bit of investigation (thank you Google) that in recent years research has been carried out to examine the shopping needs and wants of the over 55s. While the majority of retailers are still more interested in targeting the younger population, marketeers are waking up to the fact that the older generation need to be catered for as well, and as mentioned above, these are often more astute shoppers who seek quality and service. I believe that my generation is the first to challenge the consumer market as we are younger in outlook and lifestyles than our parents and this is a trend that is likely to increase as time goes by. This in my mind means that there is a need to continue finding out what it is ‘older’ shoppers require and to be recognised as an important market segment.
A sad thought came into my mind whilst writing this, is that living as we do now in these weird and scary Covid 19 times, older people who live alone, might see their shopping trips not only as necessary to stock up on supplies, but also as a means of socializing. Sometimes popping into the local M&S and talking to a salesperson might be the only contact an elderly person enjoys in a day. These people most definitely deserve to be seen and treated with the utmost respect.
I think it is up to me, us, the Boomer Generation, to continue to make our needs felt, to make retailers understand that we are worthy of note, that we are continuing to make a contribution to society, and therefore deserve to be treated with respect, and most definitely be seen.
Written by Su Newman
I have been a self-employed Marketing Communications professional since 2001 writing and editing material for many different industries. I moved to Israel from the UK with my husband and four children 25 years ago and have never looked back. When not working, I like nothing better than sitting down with a good book; taking a walk along the coast; spending time with my gorgeous (and growing) family, or enjoying coffee and a natter with a good friend. Believing very much in making the most of every day I am always searching for new projects and challenges.