Segmenting the over 50s market:

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Segmenting the over 50s market Using existing
public datasets Martin Hyde, UCL
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Comparisons between the US and the UK

• The US
• Widely accessible data
• Ageing a well researched area
• Not as social policy focused
• Longitudinal and cohort studies

• The UK
• Access to data relatively tight
• Ageing research dominated by health poverty
• Few explicit studies of ageing
• Few longitudinal studies

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UK datasets

• Cross sectional
• GHS
• BSA
• FES/EFS
• Social Exclusion
• FRS

• Longitudinal
• NCDS
• BHPS
• Boyd-Orr Study
• Twenty 07 Study
• ELSA
• (CPS)

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The Family Expenditure Survey

• Collected annually since 1957
• Used to compute the Retail Price Index
• Collects general household level data and
  detailed expenditure diary data
• Representative survey of UK households drawn from
  PAF
• Mean sample size, c7000 Response rate, 60

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Number of variables in each household dataset
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Distribution of sample by age of HoH
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Household ownership of selected goods
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Car ownership 1973-2001
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TV ownership 1968-2001
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PC ownership 1988-2001
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The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)

• Longitudinal biennial panel survey of those aged
  over 50 years living in England
• Representative of the over 50s population
• Wave 1 N 11,392 Response rate c80
• Internationally comparable to US (HRS) and Europe
  (SHARE)

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Content of Wave 1
Type of occupancy Type of dwelling Aids and
appliances Mortgages Rates and council
tax Problems with housing Household
durables Spending
Sources of income Amount of income Types of real
financial assets Amount of real financial
assets Types and amounts of savings Types and
amounts of debt
Live to 60/80 years Being in employment Poor
health Poverty Inheritance
Self completion Quality of life Access to
amenities GHQ-12 Ladder Demand-control Social
networks Organisations Civil leisure activities
Labour market position Employment Age of
retirement Reasons for retirement Type of
pension Amount received from pension
Household grid
Age Sex Marital status
Ethnicity Country of birth Year of
immigration Educational qualification Age of
school leaving
General health Eyesight and hearing CVD Chronic
illness Falls Pain Rose angina Respiratory
illness Intermittent claudication ADLs and
IADLs Health behaviours
Walking speed
Prospective memory Recall Animal names Letter
elimination Numeracy
CES-D Perceived old age Perceived middle age
Caring Cultural participation Transport
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Household durables ownership in ELSA
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Ownership of goods by sex
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Ownership of goods by labour market status
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Ownership of goods by income quintile
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TV ownership for retirees and employees by income
quintile
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PC ownership for retirees and employees by income
quintile
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Dishwasher ownership for retirees and employees
by income quintile
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Dishwasher ownership for retirees and employees
by income quintile
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Conclusions

• More research needed to understand consumption
  patterns in later life
• Consumption and lifestyle are not key topics in
  UK gerontological surveys
• Longitudinal data crucial to disentangle cohort
  and ageing effects
• Few long running longitudinal surveys with a
  consumption component
• Greater co-ordination required between
  researchers on ageing and later life

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For more information

• Contact details
• martin.hyde_at_ucl.ac.uk
• Cultures of consumption website
• http//www.consume.bbk.ac.uk/
• ELSA website
• http//www.ifs.org.uk/elsa/