Cashing in on aging boomers - Portland Business Journal:

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“People wanted nothing to do with thematurwe market,” said Maddy Dychtwald, senior vice president of the compan y in San Francisco. Now, the consumer productds and servicesindustry can’t stop thinking aboutf the mature market, especially sinc e a baby boomer turns 50 every 8½ At 78 million boomers represent one-third of all adults in the Unitefd States. They control half of the nation’sx wealth and, at least before the were spending $2 trillion on consumer products and serviceasa year. Boomers were expected to account for about 40 percenyt of spendingby 2015, according to a report in 2007.
So, retailerzs and marketers are eager to figuree out how to reachthis generation. Some in the consumedr products and services industry are getting it while many others still have much tolearh — and lose, said expertxs who specialize in marketing to baby boomers. Marketinf to this 19-year generation is proving tricky. Although boomerds are lumped together, they’re a diverse group with divergent 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 market to boomers is by individual life stagesegments — such as empty-nestera and grandparents — without mentionintg age, consultants said. “They refus e to be called That is the worst thingb you can do to this saidAlice Jacobs, a Roseville baby boomer who advisesz companies on generational marketing and teachews seminars and classes on the topic, includinbg through UC Davis Extension. Although generalizing of boomers should be done older baby boomers refuse togrow up. They think old age startsd around 75or 80, said Matt Thornhill, founder of , a marketin g research and consulting firm in Virginia. Boomer see themselves as vibrantand active.
They like tryinb new services and products, despite the myth that they are spokesman Anthony Deluise The association of people 50 and older no longe ruses “retired” in its name. Boomers like print advertisingb because they want lots of Boomers also pay attention to new and will clickon eye-catching Internet ads. This generatiojn also likes products, services and shopping experiences that make them feel specialoand pampered, consultants said. They don’tr want to merely eat or buy things. They want to they want experiences. This is especially true sincre therecession started. Many boomers who are 60 had expectedf to retire over the nextfive years.
Now, they will likelh work an extra three to five years becausd oftheir hard-hit investments and pensions, Dychtwalcd said. The good news is they won’t be on a fixedd income and willstill spend. But their free time will be more limited. More boomersw will be working and raising childrenn or grandchildren while also dealing with theie ownsick parents. As a “experience over things become valued,” Dychtwald “There is a real shift going on righyt now on what peopleare valuing.” Boomers in particuladr want to be responsible consumers.
“It’s not abouf buying stuff to have stuff,” Thornhill Lifestyle centers — which combine upscale stores with entertainment and comfortable places tolinger — provide the experiencesa that boomers want. Local examplew are Sacramento’s Pavilions center and The Fountainsin Roseville.