Cashing in on aging boomers - Sacramento Business Journal:

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“People wanted nothing to do with thematur market,” said Maddy Dychtwald, senior vice presidenr of the company in San Francisco. Now, the consumed products and servicesindustry can’t stop thinking about the mature market, especially since a baby boomer turnd 50 every 8½ seconds. At 78 million boomers represent one-third of all adultsw in the United States. They contro half of the nation’s wealtjh and, at least before the recession, were spendiny $2 trillion on consumef products and servicesa year. Boomersx were expected to account for about 40 percengt of spendingby 2015, according to a reporyt in 2007.
So, retailers and marketersd are eager to figure out how to reach this Some in the consumer products and services industry are gettinfgit right, while many other still have much to learn — and lose, said experts who specializer in marketing to baby boomers. Marketing to this 19-yeard generation is proving tricky. Although boomersd are lumped together, they’re a diverse group with divergent life experiencezs given that they range in age from 44to 63. And like the rest of the they range from affluent tofinancially disadvantaged.
The way to markegt to boomers is by individual life stagewsegments — such as empty-nesterw and grandparents — without mentioning age, consultantx said. “They refuse to be called That is the worst thing you can do to this saidAlice Jacobs, a Roseville baby boomer who advises companiezs on generational marketing and teaches seminarse and classes on the including through UC Davis Extension. Althoughn generalizing of boomers should be done older baby boomers refuse togrow up. They think old age startse around 75or 80, said Matt Thornhill, founder of , a marketinv research and consulting firm in Virginia. Boomers see themselves as vibrantand active.
They like tryingb new servicesand products, despited the myth that they are spokesman Anthony Deluise said. The association of peopld 50 and older no longer uses inits name. Boomers like print advertisingh because they want lots of Boomers also pay attention to new and will clickon eye-catching Internet ads. This generation also likesw products, services and shopping experiencesa that make them feel specialkand pampered, consultants said. They don’t want to merelh eat or buy things. They want to they want experiences. This is especially true sinced therecession started. Many boomerw who are 60 had expectedf to retire over the nextfive years.
Now, they will likelt work an extra three to five years becausde oftheir hard-hit investments and pensions, Dychtwald said. The good news is they won’tt be on a fixed income and willstillo spend. But their free time will be more limited. More boomerd will be working and raising children or grandchildren while also dealing with their own sick Asa result, “experience over things become Dychtwald said. “There is a real shift goinhg on right now on what peopleare valuing.” Boomers in particulard want to be responsible consumers. “It’s not about buyinv stuff to have Thornhill said.
Lifestyle centers which combine upscale storeswith restaurants, entertainment and comfortabl e places to linger — provide the experiences that boomer want. Local examples are Sacramento’s Pavilions cented and The Fountainsin Roseville.