How many people when they were 15 thought they would still be single at 33? Not many, probably. And while it seems very normal today, that wasn’t always the perspective a few decades ago. There are more singles than we have ever been culturally accustomed to, and this trend shows no signs of slowing. In fact, single-person households were the fastest-growing household type in the last census count.
People are placing a premium on education, are waiting to get married and are slowly shifting from the thought that one has to be in a family unit for societal security. When asked about marriage, Whoopi Goldberg maybe summed up this shift best, stating, “I don’t want somebody in my house.” Longer life expectancy, urbanization and opportunities for wealth also play a role. The result is that we are living on the precipice of a massive cultural shift, one that went from being driven by a family-centric unit of connection to digitally connected solitary living.
Today, there are roughly 36 million Americans who live alone, making up 28% of households. In 1960, only 13% lived alone, and in 1980, it was 23%, according to the United States Census Bureau. This steep increase in the number of singles is upending generations of negative assumptions and stereotypes about singlehood and the product development and marketing strategies that go along with them. Marriage and/or having children are no longer the bastions of cultural success they once were. Instead, for many singles, education and having a full-time job have filled those blanks.
What does this mean for brands? Singles have more disposable income and fewer ties that bind them. Brands have to look beyond the paradigm of the family of four that has become the norm in messaging and product strategies if they want to secure growth in the near- and long-term future.