QVC Champions Women Over 50

QVC launched a campaign, “Age of Possibility,” celebrating women over the age of 50, a group the home shopping network said is “too often ignored and under-supported by mainstream brands.”

In a statement, QVC said the campaign “aims to reflect age 50+ for what it really is: a vibrant stage of life, full of new questions, changes, opportunities and hopes.”

To support the campaign, QVC established its first-ever Quintessential 50 (Q50) group, comprised of 50 “authentic and inspiring” female celebrities, entrepreneurs, activists, and lifestyle experts (QVC hosts). The list includes such boldface names as Martha Stewart, Queen Latifah, Naomi Watts, Christina Applegate, Billie Jean King, Patti LaBelle, and Sherri Shepherd as well as prominent executives such as Dentsu’s Diane Epstein and Liberty Media’s Renee Wilm.

The Q50 group will help guide QVC’s efforts to support women over the age of 50 by influencing QVC’s programming and product offerings, in addition to spearheading a series of local activations across U.S. communities.

A QVC-commissioned YouGov survey of around 3,700 U.S. consumers taken in March found that 62% of women ages 50 to 70 feel that entering age 50 and beyond is viewed by society as a time of decline. The No. 1 misconception these women are seeking to prove wrong is that they are resistant to change and new experiences. The survey found that only 31% of women between the ages of 50 and 70 feel supported by brands versus 58% of women ages 18 to 29 and 41% of women ages 30 to 49.

“We are proud to be one of the first mainstream brands stepping up in this way to show dedicated support and celebration for this chapter in women’s lives,” said Annette Dunleavy, VP of brand marketing at QVC.

Marketers continue to be called out for being fixated on youth despite adults over the age of 50 living and working longer than ever before. Studies have shown that many people in this age group have significantly more disposable income, higher net worths, and more free time than younger generations.

A Boston Consulting Group study from last year concluded that several misconceptions “have caused many brands to pay insufficient attention to mature consumers,” including that they don’t engage on social media, that they have little or a negative influence on younger consumers, and that the same messages that work with younger consumers also work with older ones.

One hurdle holding back marketing to the over-50 crowd is the perception that older targets offer significantly less customer lifetime value versus marketing’s traditional focus on consumers in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s. The average U.S. life expectancy in 2022 was 77.5 years.

Older customers are also often seen as “set in their ways” and can’t be persuaded to switch brands, although it’s believed to be less than some assume. According to Ad Age, a CivicScience survey found that 27% of adults 55 and up described themselves as very open to switching brands versus 37% of those under 25.

Finally, many marketers reportedly still fear that ads catering to an older audience turn off younger generations. Marketing consultant and researcher Jane Cunningham told the Washington Post, “There’s [still] this sort of squeamishness about presenting older women and a belief that if you show older women engaging with the brand…that will put off the younger audience.”