Millennials were first known as the “Echo Boom” because they were an echo of the Baby Boomers. As Boomers reached child-bearing age, their fertility rates (births per woman) were not particularly high, but the sheer size of the Boomer generation ensured that their offspring, the Millennials, would echo the population boom of their parents. Now that Millennials are reaching child-bearing age, fertility rates are shrinking even further. A recent Advertising Age analysis of census data shows that birthrates for women in their 20s declined more in the last two years than any time in the last three decades. In fact, the only… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Training Industry, WomenHave you ever noticed a blinking or dancing ad to the side of the web page you were reading and wondered, “Who clicks on that?” Now we have an answer, at least a generational one. According to a recent JustAsk! survey, older Baby Boomers and Matures are the most likely to click through online ads while Millennials are the least likely. According to the survey, over three quarters of those over age 55 reported clicking through an online ad in the last 6 months. In comparison, just 58% of Millennials age 15-24 report clicking online ads. And the group in… Read More
Categories: Advertising, Baby Boomers, Downloadable MediaThe Baby Boomers are determined to remain “forever young,” even if they have to use all of their accumulated wealth to stay that way. Boomers have already pushed spending on anti-aging products to about $80 billion dollars a year and, by 2015, it will surpass $114 billion, increasing more than 40% in just about 3 years, according to Global Industry Analysts. Anti-aging products range from over-the-counter skin creams to expensive surgeries. Whatever the category, the entire sector is enjoying a boom that is likely to continue for the next two decades as Boomers turn 65 at a rate of about… Read More
Categories: Baby BoomersAt least 20% of Baby Boomers are helping their Millennial children or grandchildren realize the dream of homeownership, according to a Better Homes and Gardens survey. One in five Boomers surveyed had gifted, loaned, or co-signed in support of a Millennial’s purchase of a home. More than two-thirds expressed a desire to provide such support in the future to their children or grandchildren, many intending to do so on multiple occasions. This growing trend highlights a generational imbalance in wealth – Matures and Boomers have accumulated a lot of it whereas Millennials are finding it more difficult to get hold… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Home Ownership, Real Estate, Training IndustryBoomers can be described as two generations in one. Leading Edge Boomers (or Early Boomers, b.1946-1954) and Late Boomers (or “Generation Jones,” b.1955-64) often exhibit different traits and tendencies as consumers. Their current attitudes about real estate highlight the differences between older and younger Boomers perfectly. A recent Coldwell Banker survey shows Leading Edge Boomers to be a generation preparing for retirement – downsizing, consolidating, conserving – while Late Boomers are still ambitious and acquisitive. According to the survey, only 6 percent of agents surveyed say their older Boomer clients are looking to upgrade, while 31 report that younger Boomer… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Real Estate, Training IndustrySince the beginning of Internet commerce up until a year or so ago, members of Generation X have led the way in buying things online with Millennials not far behind. Older generations, even as they warmed to the Internet, were not as trusting or as eager consumers online as the younger sets. Now, according to a new study by Forrester Research, Baby Boomers have become avid online shoppers and the biggest online spenders. 70% of younger Boomers (age 45-55) report having shopped online within the last 3 months, an all time high for their demographic and figure approaching that of… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Downloadable MediaA new study by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission sees many Baby Boomers selling their homes as age, downsize, and retire. The study projects that Boomers will divest themselves of as many as 26 million housing units over the next 20 years. The problem is that the generation that should now be entering the market for homes, the Millennials, are not generally in a position to afford them. As we noted last week, a combination of high real estate values, lower real wages, tight credit, and high indebtedness is preventing many Millennials from realizing the dream of owning a… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Home Ownership, Real EstateAs Baby Boomers retire and turn to their portfolios to support themselves, the returns on those investments are likely to diminish, Robert Arnott of Research Affiliates, LLC tells the Wall Street Journal. The large number of Boomers retiring at once will glut the market with the stocks and bonds they are trying to sell, reducing value. Meanwhile, the working population will have fewer resources to buy them and less interest in doing so than previous generations. The result: anemic returns. To make matters worse, the high proportion of retired population (once Boomers retire) to working population will increase the cost… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, WorkWells Fargo’s 7th annual retirement survey, released this month, shows that an increasing number of Americans are planning to work beyond the traditional retirement age of 65. Three quarters of those surveyed, across all age groups, said they expected to continue to work past 65. Half of those expect to work out of necessity. 25% said they expected to retire at 80. Baby Boomers are the most likely to feel compelled to work. Over half of Boomers expect to keep working into retirement because they have to. Another quarter expects to work past 65 because they want to. In contrast,… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, WorkGeneration X has a reputation for expecting the worst and many of their career paths are, well, meeting expectations. Gen Xers are stuck between the two largest generations, Boomers and Millennials, and they are feeling the squeeze at work. Boomers are delaying retirement and Millennials are rising fast and the advancement of Generation X has suffered, according to a study of the Canadian financial industry by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Despite forming the largest single cohort in the industry, Gen Xers are increasingly passed over when it comes to promotions. While the rates of promotion for Millennials have held fairly steady, the rates… Read More
Categories: Generations, Workplace