Marketers have traditionally focused their attention on the 18-34 year old market, trying to capture customers while they are young and keep them loyal for life. In addition, the traditional thinking of marketers is that as people get older, they spend less. While this is normally true, it is not so for the Baby Boomer generation – the richest generation ever, born between 1946 and 1964.

The world over, as boomers are aging, their spending is continuing to grow, and not in the ways that you would think. Unlike the stereotype of older consumers being averse to new things, boomers are among the biggest buyers of new technology and cars. They are also the largest television watchers in the world, with younger generations choosing other electronic entertainment mediums ahead of traditional TV.

Boomers, besides being the richest generation in history, are about to inherit the fortunes of their financially conservative silent generation parents.

Any company who’s marketing strategy ignores customers over 50, does so at their peril. Not only are boomers big spenders on themselves, but they are still spending money on their grown up children who live at home, and love to spend money on their grandchildren too.

While older generations might not continue to spend money on acquiring possessions themselves, boomers are increasingly interested in consuming experiences. This shift will have a detrimental effect on material retail industry, but a positive impact on the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. In addition, spending on health and wellness is also set to grow over the next 20 years as boomers spend money on staying healthier for longer. Home renovation and improvements will also be strong, as boomers will opt to retrofit their houses for their new lifestyles. Financial services should also fare well as retirement planning becomes increasingly critical.

Overall, it’s worthwhile to take the time to understand the local boomer market and to tailor products and services to this market as they do have the money to pay for them and enjoy spending money on enjoyable quality experiences and on their family members.

Any company planning to tailor a product to this market should aim to develop something that makes boomers feel good, hip, smart, sexy, hungry and technologically up-to-date. It is incorrect to assume that boomers are not interested in technology. In fact, they are some of the largest consumers of technological devices and as long as they are able to learn how to use them, will employ technology to help them work and connect more efficiently.

Companies that do not focus some of their attention on this market demographic are in for a rough 20 years as boomer spending is on a roll.

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