Are retailers failing to keep up with the Joneses?

No demographic group is monolithic, and this is particularly true of Baby Boomers whose generation stretches nearly 20 years (1946 – 1964).

Early or classic Boomers, as they are called, were born between 1946 and 1954 (ages 68 to 76). Classic Boomers were teens in the 1960’s, making them witnesses to and oftentimes participants in events taking place in Selma, Dallas, Vietnam, the moon, Woodstock and more. Today, many, if not most, are retired or downsizing. Some are in the market for second homes. This group is typically the target of ads promoting reverse mortgages.

Late Boomers (AKA Generation Jones) were kids in the sixties and teens in the seventies when they saw the end of the Vietnam War and the draft, the disgrace of President Nixon, the energy crisis, the Munich massacre and Three Mile Island. The moniker Generation Jones, according to a post on Kizer & Bender’s Retail Adventures, came from Jonathon Pontell, who used it as a sarcastic nod to “keeping up with the Joneses.”

One thing is certain. Marketing to early or late Boomers in the same manner is likely to fall on a large number of deaf ears. That’s a big mistake considering that Boomers as a total group have an estimated $70 trillion in household wealth, according to the Federal Reserve.

“Baby Boomers aren’t who you might think they are,” writes Georganne Bender. “They are doing things over in style, they know what they want and they actively seek retailers and brands who are willing to give it to them. Regardless of what you see on TV, Boomers are physically active, mentally astute and socially engaged both in person and online. Facebook is still their social media of choice, and not because they are keeping up with their grandkids.”

Michael Korsunsky, CEO, MGID, North America, in an Advertising Week piece writes that Boomers digital connectedness extends to commerce, as well. He points to statistics that show that consumers 65+ became the fastest growing group of digital shoppers during the pandemic.

• How Well Do You Know Your Customers? – Kizer & Bender’s Retail Adventures
• Why People Born 1955–1964 Aren’t Baby Boomers – Medium
• Early Boomers + Generation Jones: Meet the Two Boomer Subgroups – BridgeWorks
• The Lost Generation: Baby Boomers – Buxton
• Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989 – Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
• Gen Z vs Baby Boomers: Follow the Money – Advertising Week