Women over 55 present biggest opportunity for fashion

Prime minister Theresa May, who last night hosted a reception at Downing Street to kick off London Fashion Week, represents the biggest opportunity for the fashion industry – which is to say the fashion-loving 55-plus woman.

Forget the millennials or even Gen X, new research from Mintel shows that a “passion for fashion” among Britain’s more mature women presents the most significant opportunities for the womenswear sector.

Sadly this increasingly influential and potential-packed consumer group remains greatly under-served by the industry. According to Mintel just under half (44%) of women aged 55 and over say they would like more stylish clothes for their age, compared to an average of 32% of all women.

Furthermore the more mature shopper is much more likely to pay for quality than her younger counterpart. Almost three quarters (74%) of women aged over 55 highlight product quality in clothing as important, compared to just 55% of 16-24s. But what this group does not want to do is look younger with 75% of over-55s agreeing that it is more important for them to look the best for their age than to look younger than their age.

Nearly all of them have bought clothing in the last year too. Overall 89% of women aged over 55 have bought clothing in the 12 months, and 41% have bought three or four different product styles.

Theresa May with Dame Natalie Massenet at last night's Downing Street fashion industry reception. Picture: British Fashion Council Instagram

All this being so, brands and retailers might to well to focus more on this group, says Mintel retail analyst Alice Goody “particularly given their higher disposable income than the increasingly squeezed young.”

“Their preference for style and quality over low prices bodes well for the value of the market. The fact that the vast majority of over 55s have bought clothing in the past year suggests there is scope to grow spend among this under-served area of the market,” she says.

Furthermore these fashion- and quality-conscious consumers are likely to work until later in life and even into retirement adding further to the need for a stylish wardrobe. “However, a key issue for the mature shopper is the lack of stylish clothing for their age, suggesting retailers need to be working closer with their target customer when developing their ranges,” says Goody.

Not only are appropriate style and quality important to this group, but sizing is a key consideration as more youth-obsessed brands do not cater for larger sizes. Almost a quarter of females aged 55 and over wear clothes in size 18 and size 20 and over, says Mintel, yet 26% of women aged 55 and over would like to see greater availability of clothes in larger sizes.

“A number of new specialist retailers have launched fashion to cater for the often sidestepped plus-size category. Unless they adapt accordingly, mainstream retailers risk losing out to those providing for this once-niche area of the market,” Goody comments.

Overall sales of womenswear grew by 3.7% to reach £26.9bin in 2015. However, a discount culture has resulted in a slight slowdown in sales during 2016, with womenswear sales forecast to grow around 3% in 2016 to reach £27.7bn and it should break through the £30bn mark by 2019.

British consumers' love of a bargain is highlighted by the fact that 62% of women say low pricing is an important factor when clothes shopping, rising to 69% of 16-24s. Meanwhile, sales and special offers are an important factor to over half (51%) of women.

Just yesterday, bellwether retailer Next revealed that its full-price sales had dropped 0.3% (which may not seem a lot, but is significant in a business of its size) in the first six months of the year as consumers increasingly seek out bargains.

“Growth in the market has slowed as women have become accustomed to purchasing clothing on sale. The market remains resilient, yet retailers should be looking beyond promotions to drive sales. Combining retail with leisure enables retailers to tap into this growing area of spend, while digital innovations can balance a varied shopping experience with the convenience that women seek,” Goody adds.

She may be the busiest woman in the country but we like to think Theresa May, whose dress sense and love of a kitten heel has been well documented, might be keeping one eye on the catwalks this week. And last night she had a captive audience of fashion industry professionals in Number 10 (such as Dame Natalie Massenet, Burberry's Christopher Bailey, Mary Katrantzou, Nicholas Kirkwood and Sophia Webster among many others) who may well (if they have any sense) feel inspired to do more for women of her age.