Home

Millennials may be sexier, but Boomers spend more on groceries

June 18, 2012

By the year 2015, America’s 50+ population, or 76 million Boomers between 48 and 65 yars old, will drive 52 percent of the projected $706 billion spent on grocery, according to the McKinsey U.S. Aging Consumer Initiative. Moreover, they own 80 percent of the nation’s financial assets and half of the discretionary income, reports Phil Lempert.

This generation reshaped the nation as it grew up, and it has the most economic clout today. Boomers, who do not compromise, will be as demanding as always of brand marketers and retailers -- and reward those delivering the health and wellness, food pleasures, new tastes, convenience, value, and easy-to-shop environments they want.

To succeed, brands and retailers need to satisfy them -- and the many they support. Boomers buy increasingly for multiple generations living under one roof -- their elderly parents and their young post-college adult children. Indeed, 14.2 percent of young adults live with their parents, up from 11.8 percent in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In an economy of haves and have-nots, the under-35 group is in a steep slide, with 68 percent less median net worth than they had a quarter-century ago, says the Pew Research Center. Millennials may be sexier, but Boomers deserve the most attention from marketers.