Baby Boomers hold 77% of the U.S. wealth and they spend 15 hours per week online -- two hours longer than teenagers each week. Let's write that again...
77% of the U.S. wealth is held by Baby Boomers and they are online 15 hours per week. Why is that worth repeating? Apparently, there are still a few marketers and media buyers that believe people over age 50 are invisible. How very wrong they are. This is the generation of best-educated, financially healthy, ambitious, curious, creative, social connectors the U.S. has ever seen.
Here are a few highlights and insights from the technology, travel and entertainment industries: Baby Boomers grew up with technology -- they were the adopters of stereos, large cell phones, garage door openers, microwaves, home security systems, digital cameras, computers, cassettes, CDs, VCRs, DVRs, videos and DVDs. It's no surprise Boomers embrace Kindle, smartphones, iPads, iPhones, home automation, GPS, Facebook, chat rooms and websites focused on their interests and passions. Baby Boomers grew up with travel. Boomers watched as the highways were being built across the United States and airplane travel improved to become faster, better and cheaper. Autos were a part of culture and freedom; they took them on the highways to new jobs in other cities.
Today, Boomers believe travel is an entitlement. They spend time online researching and purchasing their vacations at a growing rate. Baby Boomers grew up with entertainment: Television, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Elvis, Beatles, attending football and baseball games, board games, train sets, hula hoops and dances. Today, Boomers spend more online than Gens X and Y. They are the largest audience for Wii and purchased the most concert tickets, making the following (Boomer-focused) bands and entertainers the highest earners: Eagles, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, U2, Paul McCartney, Elton John and Billy Joel.
If you are in the media or marketing industry, you have read various facts and stats about Boomers. Here are stats where baby Boomers have significant impact:
Baby Boomers ages 46 - 64 purchase:
74% of prescription drugs
51% of over-the counter drugs
42% of online travel
80% of luxury travel (those over 50)
$157 billion worth of leisure travel annually
3 out of 5 new car buyers are over 50
8 out of 10 Boomers own their homes
1 out of 4 Boomers have a vacation home
Some icing to the marketing cake...
U.S. Baby Boomers will inherit $14 - 20 trillion over the next 20 years.
Thank you Media Post for sharing!