Millennials Might Be Trendy but Baby Boomers Have Money
Last month I hit a milestone that, while probably long overdue, I was nonetheless not mentally prepared for: I am officially too old for Forever 21.
For the last 15 plus years, Forever 21 has always been a store where I could find some cute, cheap pieces to accent my wardrobe. Slowly, visits to the store became more perfunctory and resulted in fewer and fewer purchases. Then, last month, I walked through the store’s glass doors into what I can only describe as an early 90’s, neon-saturated fever dream. I laughed at the obvious nostalgia play (I never wore biker shorts with Pepsi logos all over them in the 90s and I’m certainly not going to start now) and left the store, never to return. Probably.
As a woman who no longer fits into many retailer’s “target demographic”, I am having some trouble navigating this “in-between” stage of my consumer life. I’ve definitely outgrown Forever 21 and probably several other fast fashion brands, but I’m not quite ready for J Jill, either. What is obvious is the older I get, the less important brands will see me and the fewer consumer choices I will have.
Millennials: A Bad Bet?
As a consumer of a certain age, I am amazed by the absolute focus on millennials from retailers across verticals. As a market researcher, I’m less amazed but no less discouraged. I understand why brands put their energy and budgets toward millennials. Millennials are seen as the sultans of all things digital; they are “influencers”, “disrupters”, digitally native, mobile-oriented and—probably most importantly—represent approximately 25% of the American population, making them the largest single consumer group. Because of this myopic focus, many brands are ignoring older consumer groups, often to the detriment of their bottom lines.
What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is that for all their influence and potential, millennials aren’t putting their money where their mouths are. Overwhelmed by student debt and housing costs, millennials do not have the spending power that marketers were hoping for. Most were graduating college and/or entering the workforce just as the economy was recovering from the 2008 recession. When adjusted for inflation, many millennials are making far less than their more fortuitous predecessors, Generation X. In short, it doesn’t look like the millennial investment has paid off as expected.
We Don’t Become A Different Species After 50
Once men and women reach a certain age, brands either completely forget about them or lump them into a single social security-collecting, AARP card-carrying, technology phobic group.
The reality is Baby Boomers outspend every other generation by $400 billion annually. And far from being techno-phobic, this group spends nearly $7 billion dollars online annually. Consumers over 50 account for more than half of all US spending. Moreover, the number of consumers over 60 will reach 11 million by the year 2020. Baby Boomers are living longer than previous generations, delaying retirement and spending money on discretionary pleasures.
Despite their propensity to spend, they represent about 5-10% of total advertising budget. Ironically, the canonization of millennials also means they are usually the decision-makers within these industries. When an entire marketing team is under 40, they are unlikely to capture the reality of what being over 50 really looks like. Baby Boomers are noticing. Many feel the way brands depict middle age is completely off-base. Industry trends often miss this group entirely, losing with them consumers who are more likely to be brand-loyal. Digital advertising efforts rarely consider consumers over 50 but by 2020, 100 million smartphone users will be 45 and older. In fact, mobile advertising is more likely to resonate with an audience whose attention spans are much longer than an average millennial.
Baby Boomers are living their best lives. They go out to dinner, frequent bars, travel, have amazing sex and—oh yeah— also spend a lot of money online. Pretending people over 50 don’t exist might be the result of a millennial-fueled existential crisis about getting old. I, for one, can’t wait to spend all of my 50+ year-old money in pursuit of being the next Iris Apfel. Maybe I’ll even drop into Forever 21 for some inspiration.
