Look Who's Spending Now! The Booming Buying Power of Affluent Boomers

Many marketers are chasing the affluent these days, and why not? In an economic headwind, you go where the money is.

But is there a particular demographic among the affluent you should be targeting? The numbers suggest there is: the Baby Boomer generation.

Born in the years following World War II, Baby Boomers now comprise over 70 million people. But its not just how many Boomers there are. It's how much money they spend—over $2 trillion a year in the U.S. according to many sources. Boomers spend more than other demographics across virtually every category of products and services, from homes and electronics, to vacations, dining and cosmetic surgery.

Here are four tips that will help you market to Baby Boomers regardless of the product or service you are selling.

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Four tips for marketing to Boomers

Tip #1: Make a point of reaching out to them. Despite their spending power, Baby Boomers feel they are being ignored by many marketers. One study found that two-thirds of people in their 50’s believe that “advertisers target people younger than I am.”i

In other words, Boomers are hungry for some marketing attention. Give it to them, and you should be rewarded!

What do Baby Boomers buy?

Boomers are leading purchasers of a wide range of products and services, including:

  • Cell phones
  • Computers
  • Music
  • Cosmetics
  • Home goods
  • Restaurants
  • Movies
  • Travel
  • Entertainment
  • Clothing
  • Health Clubs

Tip #2: Use regionally targeted media. Statistics show that Boomers tend to live in or near cities, especially in New England, the Mid-Atlantic states, the upper Great Lakes states, and the Pacific Northwestii. Look for media and advertising outlets, such as direct mail, that can be targeted to specific regions so you can be efficient with your marketing investment.

Note that you don't have to be physically in those locations to do business—Boomers are big Internet users, so you can send them mailings and then guide them to your Web site to close the sale.

Tip #3: Reach them at their homes with direct mail. Baby Boomers respond to direct mail delivered to their homes. According to the US Postal Service, Boomers are “more likely than consumers under 40 to read catalogs and advertising mail.” They also act on what they read. In fact, a whopping 56% say they made a recent purchase from a catalog that was mailed to them!iii

Tip #4: Target Boomer women – there are more of them!. Boomers are the "largest generational demographic in history", and the majority of Boomers are women. What's more, the percentage of boomers who are female will increase in the coming years.iv

And here's good news for marketers: female Baby Boomers respond to mailings. For example, the USPS reports that female boomers are 27% more likely to visit a store in response to a mailing, than are younger women.v

They're diverse shoppers, too. Boomer women tend to be independent and make decisions about vacations, restaurants, cosmetic surgery, technology, cars, home remodeling, finances, and many other major purchases.

Adding it all up: Boomers are a booming business

There are millions of Baby Boomers who have a lot of money to spend, feel ignored by advertisers, and respond to mailings. They're just waiting to hear from marketers like you.

To learn more about marketing to Baby Boomers, you can download our free white paper, "Turning Silver Into Gold: Reaching and Selling to the Affluent Baby Boomer Generation."

Click here to download the free white paper.


i “Love Those Boomers: Their new attitudes and lifestyles are a marketer's dream,” Business Week, October 24, 2005, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_43/b3956201.htm?chan=search

ii "Reinventing Aging," Harvard School of Public Health – MetLife Foundation Initiative on Retirement and Civic Engagement, http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/reinventingaging/Report.pdf

iii "Reaching Boomers with Mail," US Postal Service, http://www.usps.com/directmail/research.htm

iv "BOOM: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer—The Baby-Boomer Woman," by Brown and Orsborn (published by American Management Association, 2006)

v "Reaching Boomers with Mail, US Postal Service," http://www.usps.com/directmail/research.htm

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