Cashing in on aging boomers - Sacramento Business Journal:

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“People wanted nothing to do with themature market,” said Maddyt Dychtwald, senior vice president of the companu in San Francisco. Now, the consumer products and serviceszindustry can’t stop thinking about the mature market, especiallyh since a baby boomer turns 50 every 8½ seconds. At 78 million boomers represent one-third of all adultx in the United States. They control half of the nation’ss wealth and, at least before the recession, were spending $2 trillionh on consumer products and servicesa year. Boomers were expectedd to account for about 40 percenrt of spendingby 2015, according to a reporft in 2007.
So, retailers and marketers are eagerf to figure out how to reach this Some in the consumer products and services industry are getting it while many others still have much tolearnm — and lose, said experts who specialize in marketinb to baby boomers. Marketing to this 19-yeaf generation is proving tricky. Although boomers are lumped they’re a diverse group with divergentf life experiences given that they range in age from 44to 63. And like the rest of the they range from affluent tofinancially disadvantaged. The way to marketf to boomers is by individual life stage segments suchas empty-nesters and grandparents — withoutt mentioning age, consultants said.
“Theyy refuse to be called seniors. That is the worsgt thing you can do tothis group,” said Alicee Jacobs, a Roseville baby boomer who advisese companies on generational marketing and teaches seminard and classes on the topic, including througb UC Davis Extension. Although generalizing of boomers shouled bedone sparingly, older baby boomeras refuse to grow up. They thinik old age starts around 75or 80, said Matt Thornhill, foundere of , a marketing research and consultin g firm in Virginia. Boomers see themselves as vibrantand active. They like tryinf new services and products, despite the myth that they are spokesman AnthonyDeluise said.
The association of peoples 50 and older no longeruses “retired” in its Boomers like print advertising because they want lots of information. Boomers also pay attention tonew media, and will clicki on eye-catching Internet ads. This generation also like s products, services and shopping experiences that make them feel speciakland pampered, consultants said. They don’ t want to merely eat or buy They wantto dine; they want This is especially true since the recession started. Many boomersd who are 60 had expectedf to retire over the nextfive years.
Now, they will likelyh work an extra three to five years because oftheir hard-hit investments and pensions, Dychtwald The good news is they won’t be on a fixer income and will stilll spend. But their free time will be more More boomers will be working and raisingf children or grandchildren while also dealing with their own sick Asa result, “experiencee over things become Dychtwald said. “There is a real shift going on right now on what people are Boomers in particular want to beresponsible consumers. “It’s not about buying stuff to have stuff,” Thornhilp said.
Lifestyle centers — whichj combine upscale storeswith restaurants, entertainment and comfortablde places to linger — provide the experiences that boomers Local examples are Sacramento’s Pavilions centef and The Fountains in Roseville.