Report: One in Three Consumers are Solo, Brands are Still Designing for Couples

More than one in three people across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are not currently in a relationship, yet many brands continue to design products, pricing and communications around couples and nuclear families, according to new research findings from The Research Agency (TRA)

TRA's ‘Solo’ study, including quantitative and qualitative research with more than 2006 people across Australia and New Zealand, found that 36% of people are not currently in a relationship. Being Solo is also particularly prevalent among younger adults, with 43% of 18 to 34-year-olds Solo, compared with 35% of those aged 35 to 54 and 31% of people aged 55 and over.

The findings challenge the assumption that being single is predominantly a temporary stage. Only 6% of Solos are actively looking for a partner, while just over one-third actively choose to be single and want to remain that way. Solos are also more likely than partnered people to associate single life with independence, freedom and flexibility.

However, the research findings uncovered a persistent perception gap. While many Solos regard autonomy as an advantage, 61% believe society sees single people as lonely. In reality, only 44% of people in relationships associate being single with loneliness.

TRA says brands risk reinforcing this disconnect when advertising presents Solo life only as a problem to solve, a temporary stage or a dating journey before becoming a couple.

Daniel Talbot, Group Business Director and Innovation Lead, TRA, said the commercial opportunity begins with abandoning the idea of a "single consumer" and understanding how needs change by life stage and circumstance.

Talbot said:

"Solos are a substantial, diverse consumer group, not a niche audience waiting to become a household of two or more."

“A 25-year-old living with parents, a single parent and a 60-year-old living independently will encounter very different barriers. Brands need to understand where their category creates friction for each type of Solo, then respond through product design, pricing and experience, not simply put one person in an advertisement."

The study identified a gap between the advantages Solos value and the systems built around them. Life satisfaction among Solos was 44%, compared with 66% among people in relationships. Solos were also less satisfied with their living arrangements, finances, social lives, work-life balance, mental wellbeing and sense of connection.

Those pressures are experienced differently across life stages. Among Solos aged 18 to 34, 46% have never been in a relationship and 40% live with their parents. Solos aged 35 to 54 recorded the lowest life satisfaction, at 38%, and were more likely to face pressure from household bills and expenses. By contrast, 59% of Solos aged 55 and over choose to be single, while 78% live alone, pointing to a more established but still underserved form of independence.

The study also highlights what TRA describes as the “cumulative cost of a marketplace designed for more than one.” These individual tensions create a broader sense that Solo customers are paying more while receiving less consideration.

TRA says the gap creates opportunities for brands across categories. Food and household brands can develop single-sized formats that reduce waste. Travel, hospitality and entertainment businesses can remove pricing and participation models that penalise individuals. Financial services and housing providers can help people make major decisions and progress independently, while platforms and experiences can create routes to friendship and community that are not centered on dating.

For marketers, this means reviewing both the visible and invisible assumptions in the Solo customer journey. A brand may feature a single person in a campaign, while it offers eligibility rules or loyalty benefits rewarding couples and families. TRA’s findings suggest the most credible response is to connect representation with tangible changes that make Solo participation easier, fairer and more rewarding.

Laura Mulcahy, Head of Cultural Practice, TRA, said communications must evolve alongside product and service innovation.

"Representation matters, but the bigger opportunity for brands is to examine the assumptions built into the whole customer experience."

"Brands can show Solo people buying homes, travelling, celebrating milestones and making progress without presenting partnership as the end goal. The most relevant brands will support the needs that cut across Solo lives: connection, freedom and progress." 

“TRA recommends that brands know, represent and design for Solos and segment them beyond relationship status,”

Mulcahy concluded.

The Solo study combined cultural scanning and expert interviews with a nationally representative survey of 2,006 adults across Australia and New Zealand, including 705 Solos and 1,204 non-Solos, and qualitative digital diaries exploring lived experience.

Download the full report: https://www.theresearchagency.com/solo