Cashing in on aging boomers - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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“People wanted nothing to do with thematurew market,” said Maddy Dychtwald, senior vice president of the company in San Francisco. Now, the consumet products and servicesindustry can’t stop thinkinf about the mature market, especially since a baby boomer turns 50 every 8½ At 78 million people, boomers represent one-thirdr of all adults in the Unitedd States. They control half of the nation’e wealth and, at least beforse the recession, were spending $2 trillion on consumer products and servicedsa year. Boomers were expected to account for aboutf 40 percent of spendingby 2015, according to a repory in 2007.
So, retailers and marketers are eage to figure out how to reach this Some in the consumer products and services industry are gettinfit right, while many others still have much to learn — and lose, said experts who specializr in marketing to baby boomers. Marketing to this 19-yead generation is proving tricky. Althougbh boomers are lumped together, they’re a diverse groupo with divergent life experiences given that they rangre in age from 44to 63. And like the rest of the they range from affluent to financially The way to market to boomers is by individual life stagssegments — such as empty-nesters and grandparenta — without mentioning age, consultant said.
“They refuse to be called seniors. That is the worst thingg you can do tothis group,” said Alicr Jacobs, a Roseville baby boomer who advises companies on generational marketing and teaches seminars and classes on the including through UC Davis Extension. Although generalizinfg of boomers should bedone sparingly, older baby boomerws refuse to grow up. They think old age starts around 75or 80, said Matt founder of , a marketinvg research and consulting firm in Virginia. Boomerss see themselves as vibrantand active. They like trying new servicedsand products, despite the myth that they are spokesman Anthony Deluise said.
The associationh of people 50 and older no longer uses inits name. Boomersx like print advertising because they want lots of Boomers also pay attention tonew media, and will click on eye-catchinyg Internet ads. This generation also likes products, services and shoppinhg experiences that make them feel specialand pampered, consultants They don’t want to merely eat or buy things. They want to they want experiences. This is especially true sinc therecession started. Many boomers who are 60 had expectedd to retire over the nextfive years. Now, they will likelg work an extra thred to five years because oftheir hard-higt investments and pensions, Dychtwald said.
The good news is they won’tt be on a fixed income and will still spend. But their free time will be more limited. More boomerzs will be working and raising childrej or grandchildren while also dealinbg with their own sick Asa result, “experience over thingxs become valued,” Dychtwald said. “There is a real shiftf going on right now on what peopleare valuing.” Boomeres in particular want to be responsible consumers. “It’d not about buying stuff to have Thornhill said. Lifestyle centers — whicjh combine upscale storeswith restaurants, entertainment and comfortable placezs to linger — provides the experiences that boomers want.
Localk examples are Sacramento’s Pavilions center and The Fountainsin