Research finds gymwear brands ‘missing out’ by overlooking active older consumers
Almost half of consumers aged between 55 and 64 said limited or nonexistent representation was the norm, according to a report by The Centre for Ageing Better.
Ageing Better found that 49 per cent of consumers agreed that few or no gymwear brands reflected people of their age fairly.
Respondents aged over 45 also felt that gymwear brands performed worse on age representation than businesses operating in the technology, beauty, hospitality and wider fashion sectors.
The campaign argues that brands risk missing a growing and financially valuable market by failing to engage effectively with older consumers.
More than one in four consumers aged between 55 and 64 said they would buy more from a brand if its advertising fairly represented people of their age.
Meanwhile, 36 per cent of those aged between 45 and 54 said inclusive advertising would make them feel more connected to a brand.
The findings come as increasing numbers of older adults remain physically active. According to the latest Active Lives Adult Survey from Sport England, a record 10.5 million adults aged 55 and over undertake at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week.
Consumers aged over 50 also account for more than half of consumer spending in the UK, according to the Centre for Ageing Better.
Harriet Bailiss, Co-head of the Age Without Limits campaign, said people in their fifties and beyond were more active than ever and represented an increasingly significant proportion of the population.
She said: “Collectively, the 50-plus age group has huge spending power, and brands must know this too. It is absurd that the majority still acts as though this large group of consumers does not exist or is not worthy of efforts to reach them.”
She added that campaign supporters were frustrated by the continued exclusion and misrepresentation of older people in advertising.
“While it is understandably frustrating for consumers who feel ignored and undervalued, it is also a significant oversight from brands that could benefit financially by targeting consumers aged over 50 in the same way as other age groups,” she said.
Katherine Crawshaw, Co-head of the Age Without Limits campaign, called for older people to be represented across a wider variety of products and services.
She said: “We want older adults to be featured in advertising across different sectors, not only for products regarded as age-related, such as cruises or mobility aids.
“We want to see adverts that celebrate ageing rather than token representation that reinforces ageist stereotypes or makes older people the butt of the joke.”
The campaign also highlighted the limited representation of older people within the advertising industry itself, stating that fewer than one in ten advertising agency employees are aged over 51.
Katherine argued that improving the age diversity of advertising workforces could support more authentic representation of older consumers.
The research was conducted by Opinium, a Market Research Society company partner and a member of the British Polling Council, through an online survey of 4,000 UK adults between 16 and 20 January 2026.
The number of people at risk of financial insecurity in their 60s will break past the two million mark for the first time within the next decade unless the UK Government takes urgent action, a report from the Centre for Ageing Better warns.
