by QVC is doubling down on its seasoned audience – women 50 and older.
Under a new agenda called “The Age of Possibility,” QVC has created 50 celebrities, activists, entrepreneurs and women from many walks of life. They will lead panels, participate in live QVC broadcasts, advise on products and programs, and appear in cities and towns across the country to encourage conversations about body changes, relationships with children, caring for parents aging, aging, beauty and skin care, and other issues and topics related to women 50 and older.
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QVC is calling its collective, the “Quintessential 50,” or Q50 for short. It’s a diverse group that includes Martha Stewart; Queen Latifah, Naomi Watts; chef Carla Hall; the dr. Karen Knudsen, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society; tennis great Billie Jean King; Renee Wilm, CEO of Grand Prix Las Vegas; Patti LaBelle, and the hosts of the QVC program, among others.
“We want their rich experience and diverse perspectives to help guide our evolution and connect women to what’s truly possible at this stage in life,” said Annette Dunleavy, QVC vice president of brand marketing , by WWD. “We’ve always focused on women 50+, but we started to recognize that there’s a bigger reason to cater to this group. It’s an underserved demographic that is underserved by mainstream brands and retailers. By celebrating women in this stage of life we believe we will spark conversation, while showing the world that QVC is entering a new chapter, with a fresh perspective and relevant products and programming.”
To promote the conversations, QVC launched “Over 50 and Fabulous!” A Facebook group, where women can meet on Facebook and have a discussion.
Between the new collective programs and products, and the Facebook group, the aim is to engage more women over 50 with QVC’s multimedia platform for shopping, entertainment and learning, and negative sales have been seen recently reversed by QVC’s parent company, Qurate. Retail.
“We’re breaking boundaries and getting rid of old stereotypes,” said QVC host and Q50 member Shawn Killinger. “Ageing with passion and purpose should be sought, not fought. Everything I always wanted came to me later in life when I was really ready to experience it.”
On April 24, the Q50 will gather at the Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas. “It’s a first-of-its-kind summit with Q50 keynote speakers and panelists to spend a day together, get to know each other and have honest conversations about issues that matter to them,” said Dunleavy. At the private one-day event, participants will range in age from 50 to their 80s, talking about issues that are important to them, in their stage of life. Grand Prix Plaza is a 39-acre, multi-use complex for private events and exhibitions, and the home base of Formula 1 racing in North America.
QVC conducted a survey with YouGov which found that 62 per cent of women aged 50 to 70 believe that society views turning 50 and over as a period of decline, and that this is the biggest misconception these women want to prove wrong is that they are wrong. resistant to change and new experiences. The survey reached 3,713 respondents and was conducted in March 2024.
The same study, which found that only 31 per cent of women aged 50 to 70 feel supported by brands, compared to 58 per cent of women aged 18 to 29 and 41 per cent of women aged 30 and 49 years of age.
Citing data from the US Census Bureau, QVC revealed that between 2022 and 2035 the 50-plus segment (both men and women) is expected to grow more than 2.5 times as fast as the 18-49 segment. The 50-plus population grows 13 percent in that time period, and the 18 to 49-year-old segment grows 5 percent.
The current population of 1.9 billion adults aged 50 and over worldwide is expected to balloon 70 percent by 2050 to 3.2 billion.
QVC also cited statistics from AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons, which projects that by 2028, women will control 75 percent of discretionary spending worldwide and, by 2030, they will control 66 percent of America’s wealth.
Women over 50 will have an “unbelievable” amount of more spending power by 2030,” said Dunleavy, noting that the demographic is becoming more independent, more autonomous and has more time for themselves own. “We partnered with YouGov on the survey to really validate what we were seeing. . . It’s going to be a great ongoing message in the age of possibility,” said Dunleavy. “At QVC, we know that being 50+ means being full of questions, hopes and opportunities. We believe that this stage in life is a time of joyous anticipation and exploration that women should look forward to and not worry about. It is a time in her life where anything is possible and when you can be truly true to who you are. We see this initiative as much bigger than QVC. We believe QVC can be at the forefront of changing the way women over 50 see retail and entertainment.”
Dunleavy said that members of the Q50 will provide guidance on brands and categories and that QVC will take greater care in selecting products for the 50-plus female demographic. “We really want women in this demographic to be seen and heard,” she said. “We’re looking for some member of Q50 to be ambassadors and advocates for QVC’s Age of Possibility, which she called a “social movement”.
There is good reason to double the number of women over 50. According to Dunleavy, “We want to attract more of this audience to come and check us out. We are the place for women over 50 to entertain and shop… In retail, the experience can be very transactional and very digital. At QVC, we are very connected on a human level and community is a very powerful part of our business.
“I’m 59. So the Age of Possibility speaks to me personally,” Dunleavy said.
Qurate Retail’s parent company QVC, for the fiscal fourth quarter ending December 31, 2023, reported that its total revenue fell 11 percent to just over $3.14 billion from $3.53 billion in the year-ago period. Excluding Zulily, which was divested in May 2023, Q4 revenue fell 4 percent in the last quarter from $3.27 billion in the year-ago period. The decline in revenue was attributed to reduced inventory levels and consumers becoming more “selective”.
In June 2022, Qurate’s president and chief executive officer, David Rawlinson, unveiled a three-year turnaround plan, Project Athens, designed to stabilize and differentiate the core businesses, expand video streaming commerce, strengthen customer relationships, improve execution and reduce costs. “We had to undergo a very fundamental fundamental change,” said Rawlinson, when the company reported its fourth-quarter results on February 28. “We now see that the business is starting to gain real momentum,” said Rawlinson. “After this year, that’s when we lean into top-line growth, streaming, digital, a set of new value propositions, innovations. We will be really ready in a very exciting way.”
As for QVC, he said, “We’re going to take it (beyond) the studio and into the world. QVC will appear in different neighborhoods and formats. You will see a rebranded image, very different from the past.” The Age of Possibility and the Q50 are part of that.
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