The Millennials (ages 12 – 31years of age – – only half of whom are old enough to be in the labor force)- are often described as “The Audience of Choice” by advertisers.  However, in considering where to target advertising dollars, it is important to be aware of the popular nickname of the Millennials – “The Boomerang Generation.”  They earned this moniker because of how many of them are moving back with their parents and staying there.  They are often debt-saddled, jobless, and are not paying rent.  In addition, many of them are looking towards earning advance degrees as a way to avoid the bleak job market.  Burdened by $1 trillion in college debt, Millennials seek the lowest price on their purchased items; shop for lower priced brands whenever possible and do much of their bargain hunting online.  They now represent the highest percentage of Americans lacking enough money to meet their basic needs.  By continuing to target the Millennial market segment, advertisers are missing the boat on a much stronger population – the Baby Boomers.

While Millennials have a large share of the population (80 million), Baby Boomers (ages 47-67) are not only almost equal in size (77 million), but have higher household income and accumulated wealth. Baby Boomers are a massive market with extraordinary spending power. What makes them even more valuable to marketers is that, once they turn 50, they embark upon a large number of new purchase decisions driven by age and stage of life, or both. Yet, according to the AARP, while, this market segment actually accounts for nearly half of all consumer purchases, (buying more than 47% of consumer goods), and controls 70% of disposable income, only 10% of marketing dollars are specifically targeting the Baby Boomers.

One misconception might be that the Baby Boomer has a limited life span as a consumer.

While life expectancy at the turn of the 20^th century was 49 years old, thanks to innovation in health, wellness and technology, 50+ Americans can expect to live for at least three more decades.  Baby Boomers will remain the dominant and most powerful consumer group for the next 30-40 years.

Given these facts, the advertisers’ bottom line can be profoundly impacted by focusing their marketing strategy on the Baby Boomers – giving them the respect they deserve. And marketers can best reach them at the Mall where they actually account for a larger number of mall shoppers than Millennials.

Baby Boomers, therefore, not only have the beef, but they can afford it as well!