QVC is doubling down on its tried and true audience — women 50 and older.
Under a new agenda called “The Age of Possibility,” QVC has formed a collective of 50 celebrities, activists, entrepreneurs and prominent women from many walks of life. They’ll conduct panels, participate in live QVC broadcasts, advise on product and programming, and appear in cities and towns around the country to spark conversations on body changes, relationships with children, taking care of aging parents, dating, beauty and skincare, and other issues and topics of relevance to women 50 and older.
QVC is calling its collective, the “Quintessential 50,” or Q50 for short. It’s a diverse group that includes Martha Stewart; Queen Latifa, Naomi Watts; chef Carla Hall; Dr. Karen Knudsen, the chief executive officer of American Cancer Society; tennis great Billy Jean King; Renee Wilm, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix; Patti LaBelle, and QVC program hosts, among others.
“We want their rich experience and diverse perspectives to help guide our evolution and connect women to what is really possible at this stage of life,” Annette Dunleavy, QVC’s vice president of brand marketing, told WWD. “We’ve always focused on women 50 plus, but we began to recognize there’s a bigger reason to service this group. It’s an underserved demographic that’s under supported by mainstream brands and retailers. By celebrating women in this stage of life we believe we’ll spur a conversation, and in parallel show the world that QVC is entering a new chapter, with fresh perspective and relevant products and programming.”
Annette Dunleavy
Johanna D Halsmith
To further the conversations, QVC launching an “Over Fifty and Fabulous” Facebook group, where women can come together on Facebook and have discussions.
Between the collective, new programming and products, and the Facebook group, the aim is to get more women over 50 more engaged with QVC’s multi-media platform for shopping, entertainment and learning, and reverse negative sales seen recently at QVC’s parent company, Qurate Retail.
“We are breaking boundaries and dismantling old stereotypes,” said QVC host and Q50 member Shawn Killinger. “Aging with passion and purpose is something that should be sought, not fought. Everything I have always wanted has come to me later in life when I was truly 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 keynoters and panels for the Q50 to spend a day together, get to know each other and for candid conversations on issues important them,” Dunleavy said. At the private one-day event, participants will range in age from 50 through their 80s, talking about issues important to them, in their stage of life. Grand Prix Plaza is a 39-acre, multi-use complex for private events and exhibits, and the home base of Formula 1 racing in North America.
QVC conducted a survey with YouGov which found that 62 percent of women ages 50 to 70 feel that reaching 50 and beyond is viewed by society as a time of decline, and the number-one misconception these women most want to prove wrong is that they are 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 percent of women ages 50 to 70 feel supported by brands, compared to 58 percent of women ages 18 to 29 and 41 percent of women ages 30 to 49.
Citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau, QVC indicated that between 2022 and 2035, the 50-plus segment (men and women) is expected to grow over 2.5 times as fast as the 18-49 segment. The 50-plus population grows 13 percent in that time period, while the 18-to-49-year-old segment grows 5 percent.
The current population of 1.9 billion adults globally aged 50 and over is expected to balloon 70 percent by 2050 to 3.2 billion.
QVC also cited statistics from AARP, the American Association for Retired Persons, that projects by 2028, women will control 75 percent of discretionary spending globally and, by 2030, they will control 66 percent of America’s wealth.
Women over 50 will have an “incredible” amount of more spending power by 2030,” said Dunleavy, noting that the demographic is increasingly becoming more independent, autonomous and have more time for themselves. “We partnered with YouGov on the survey to really validate what we were seeing . . . The age of possibility will really be a great ongoing message,” Dunleavy said. “At QVC, we know that being 50 plus means being full of questions, hopes and opportunities. We believe this stage in life is a time of joyful expectation and exploration that women should look forward to and not dread. It’s a time of their lives where anything is possible and when you can be authentically who you are. We see this initiative as much bigger than QVC. We believe QVC can lead the way in a shift of how retail and entertainment see women over 50.”
Dunleavy said members of the Q50 will provide guidance on brands and categories and that QVC we curate more sharply its product selection for the 50-plus women’s demographic. “We really want women in this demographic to be seen and heard,” she said. “We are asking some of the member of Q50 to be ambassadors and advocates for QVC’s Age of Possibility, which she referred to as “a social movement.”
There’s a good reason for doubling down on women over 50. According to Dunleavy, 82 percent of QVC’s customers are over 50. We want to attract more of this audience to come and check us out. We are the place for women over 50 to be entertained and to shop…In retail, the experience can be very transactional and very digital. At QVC, we are very connected at the human level and the community is a very powerful part of our business.
“I’m 59. So the Age of Possibility speaks to me very personally,” Dunleavy said.
QVC’s Qurate Retail parent company, for the fiscal fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2023, reported that its total revenues 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 revenues slipped 4 percent last quarter from $3.27 billion in the year-ago period. The revenue decline was attributed to reduced inventory levels and consumers becoming more “choiceful.”
In June 2022, Qurate’s president and chief executive officer David Rawlinson unveiled a three-year turnaround plan, the Athens Project, 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 turnaround,” Rawlinson said, when the company reported its fourth quarter results on February 28. “We now see the business starting to gain some real momentum,” Rawlinson said. “After this year, that’s when we really lean into top-line growth, streaming, digital, a series of new value propositions, innovations. We will really be 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 be showing up in neighborhoods and different formats. You will see a rebranded image, very different from the past.” The Age of Possibility and the Q50 are part of that.
