Businesses ‘overlooking grey pound’ of successful senior citizens

Businesses are under-estimating the power of the “grey pound”, according to a report.

The over-65s boosted the UK economy by an estimated £37 billion last year through their hotel and travel spending.

Yet the UK hospitality and leisure sector missed out on at least a further £16 billion through failing to properly target older consumers, said the report by Barclays Corporate Banking.

Just 5% of businesses within the sector saw over-65s as the most important group in terms of sales and revenue for their company.

As many as 37% of the businesses perceived 34 to 44-year-olds as their priority target market, despite these consumers spending less money on average.

Also, 76% of the businesses had no plans to introduce products or services which specifically target the over-65s.

Barclays said that, without action, the missed opportunity was only set to increase, in line with the UK’s ageing population.

It added that the total annual spend of over-65s could grow to at least £57 billion by 2025, based on the projected 34% increase in the number of old people.

Barclays hospitality and leisure head Mike Saul said: “It is clear from the report that the over-65 age group is a huge and untapped opportunity for the hospitality and leisure sector with the UK.

“There appears to be a gulf between the perception and reality of the spending power of over-65s. By not fully focusing on the needs of this generation, and the revenue growth opportunity they represent, businesses may risk missing out on their share of £16 billion this year alone.”

He went on: “We have found that almost two-fifths of businesses in the sector expect that the proportion of their turnover generated by over-65s will increase over the next five years.

“Yet more needs to be done to start planning and accommodating for the currently ‘overlooked generation’.”

The report was based on responses from 1,100 consumers and 564 businesses.