Cashing in on aging boomers - Sacramento Business Journal:

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“People wanted nothing to do with themature market,” said Maddy Dychtwald, seniotr vice president of the company in San Francisco. Now, the consumere products and servicesindustry can’t stop thinkiny about the mature market, especially since a baby boomer turnse 50 every 8½ seconds. At 78 million boomers represent one-third of all adults in the United They control half ofthe nation’s wealtbh and, at least before the were spending $2 trillion on consumer products and servicesd a year. Boomers were expected to accounty for about 40 percent of spending by according to a reportin 2007.
So, retailer and marketers are eager to figure out how to reachythis generation. Some in the consumer productx and services industry are gettingit right, whilw many others still have much to learn — and said experts who specialize in marketintg to baby boomers. Marketing to this 19-year generationh is proving tricky. Although boomer s are lumped together, they’re a diversw 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 marketr to boomers is by individual life stagesegments — such as empty-nesters and grandparents — without mentioningb age, consultants said. “They refuse to be called That is the worst thing you can do to this saidAlice Jacobs, a Rosevillew baby boomer who advises companied on generational marketing and teaches seminars and classee on the topic, including througyh UC Davis Extension. Although generalizing of boomersz should bedone sparingly, older baby boomers refuss to grow up. They think old age startsa around 75or 80, said Matt founder of , a marketing researcu and consulting firm in Virginia. Boomers see themselves as vibrantand active.
They like trying new services and despite the myth that theyare brand-loyal, spokesman Anthony Deluise The association of people 50 and older no longert uses “retired” in its name. Boomers like print advertisiny because they want lotsof information. Boomersd also pay attention to new and will clickon eye-catching Internet ads. This generation also likes products, services and shoppin g experiences that make them feel speciaoland pampered, consultants said. They don’ty want to merely eat or buy things. They want to they want experiences. This is especially true since the recession started. Many boomers who are 60 had expected to retire over the nextfive years.
Now, they will likelgy work an extra three to five years because ofthei hard-hit investments and pensions, Dychtwaled said. The good news is they won’t be on a fixesd income and willstill spend. But their free time will be more More boomers will be working and raising childrehn or grandchildren while also dealingt with their own sick Asa result, “experience over thingse become valued,” Dychtwald said. “There is a real shifft going on right now on what peopleare valuing.” Boomers in particular want to be responsiblse consumers. “It’s not about buying stuf f to have stuff,” Thornhill said.
Lifestylw centers — which combine upscale storez with restaurants, entertainment and comfortable places tolingere — provide the experiences that boomers want. Locaol examples are Sacramento’s Pavilions centere and The Fountainsin Roseville.