Boomers Projected as Big Spenders
Posted On January 10, 2013
Since their emergence as the youth market decades ago, Baby Boomers have expanded the consumer demand of each life stage or demographic they’ve passed through. Always avid consumers, Boomers promise to do the same at the senior stage, according to a recent analysis by McClatchy.
While the discussion of Boomer aging has centered the effects of their retirements and entitlement demands, others see a key consumer generation entering a whole new market phase. “It’s only in Washington that 100 million people are viewed as an unaffordable cost and financial burden,” said an AARP exec of the new seniors. “In the private sector, 100 million people are called a market and an opportunity.”
Previous generations have been marked by restrained spending in the senior years but Boomers project to continue their avid consumption and to enter new markets as they age. Planners in retirement communities are rethinking their development plans to include shopping and sporting centers to cater to Boomer lifestyles. As Boomers strive to preserve their quality of life, demand for fitness trainers is expected to increase 24%. As they cope with the effects of aging, demand for home health assistance is expected to rise 70%.
“We became the generation of consumption and personal gratification,” said one Boomer analyst. “Boomers are not going to spend at all like the prior generations did at 65. They’re going to spend at Boomer levels. And there’s millions more of them.”