boomers’ billions:the spending habits of marketing’s most valuable generation

The hype about millennials in marketing circles goes on, but if you think you think they’re “marketing’s most valuable generation”, you’d

be wrong. That honour goes to the boomers*.

“marketing’s most valuable generation”

Source: * Nielsen Report “Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation”; Yearly Income: Numeris | RTS, Canada | Spring 2019

YEARLY INCOME(billions)

Boomers have billions of dollars to spend - so why don’t they get more of advertisers’ attention? Perhaps

because we continue to market based on decades’ old assumptions.

Boomer Myths: Boomers are saving, not spending Boomers are set in their ways and unlikely to switch brands

Boomer Truth: Boomers not only make the most money, they spend the most moneyBoomers are just as likely to experiment with new products, andBoomers have brand loyalty levels equivalent to other age groups*

Boomers spend close to 50% of all CPG dollars* and spend billions of dollars in other categories annually.

Might you be leaving money on the table?

$314

$479

A18-34 A50-64

2

perception

realityVS

3

millennials are many …m i l l e n n i a l s * h a v e s u r p a s s e d b o o m e r s a s t h e l a r g e s t d e m o g r a p h i c g r o u p

8,2697,330 7,725

6,453

A18-34 A35-49 A50-64 A65+

POPULATION (000)

* Loosely translating “millennials” as A18-34 & “boomers” as A50-64

Source: Numeris | RTS, Canada | Spring 20194

… but they can’t compete with boomers’ billions

72% higher

AVERAGE PERSONAL YEARLY INCOME YEARLY INCOME

+ $165 billion

$36,000

$62,000

A18-34 A50-64

$314Billion

$479Billion

A18-34 A50-64

Source: Numeris | RTS, Canada | Spring 20195

millennials & boomers by the numbers

54% work full-time24% work part-time

56% work full-time13% work part-time

$314 billion in personal income annually $479 billion in personal income annually

investments/savings* $298 billion investments/savings* $1.6 trillion

30% own their home 84% own their home

MILLENNIALS BOOMERSA18-34 A50-64

Source: Numeris | RTS, Canada | Spring 2019 | * Excludes real estate 6

cashing in

7

$32.8 B

$49.4 B

$22.8 B

New & Used Vehicles Groceries Home Improvement

hungry? boomers spend $16 billion more on groceries alone

b o o m e r s s p e n d m o r e t h a n m i l l e n n i a l s a c r o s s n u m e r o u s c a t e g o r i e s

ANNUAL EXPENDITURES

Source: Numeris | RTS, Canada | Spring 2019

+ $10 billion + $16 billion + $5 billion

A18-34 A50-64

8

boomers are on the moves p e n d i n g $ 5 b i l l i o n m o r e i n t r a v e l

$18.2 B

$14.7 B

Non-Grocery Retail Travel (last vacation)

ANNUAL EXPENDITURES

Source: Numeris | RTS, Canada | Spring 2019

+ $1.4 billion + $5 billion

A18-34 A50-64

9

the brand loyalty myth

So, boomers have the money, but are they actually spending that money?

You bet.

In fact, when it comes to brands, it’s young families who are the most entrenched, and for most CPG categories it’s the boomers – “generation wealth” - that are most willing to try different and multiple brands.

the brand loyalty myth

Source: Kantar Worldpanel consumer survey, 2017 11

26%

17%

13%16%

38%

34%32%

38%41%

33% 33%

38%

UNDER-28 28-44 45-64 OVER-65

Average brand loyalty by age of principal buyer (% share of requirements)

Alcohol

Household Goods

Toiletries

boomers are consistently less brand loyal than other age groups

Source: Kantar Worldpanel consumer survey, 2017, A45-64 12

target the spenders with

13

target the spenders withT V r e a c h e s 8 8 % o f b o o m e r s d a i l y

Boomers watch a lot of TV

• boomers spend 30 hours a week watching TV

• that’s 47% more time than they spend on the Internet

Sources: Television: Numeris PPM, Total Canada, Total TV, A50-64, Mo-Su 2a-2a, Fall-Winter-Spring 2018-19 (weeks 3-39, Sept 10, 2018 to May 26, 2019) | Internet, Radio, Daily Newspaper, Magazine: Numeris RTS, Canada, A50-64, Spring 2019

8879 80

43

2429.8

20.3 17.5

1.7 0.5

TV Internet Radio Newspaper Magazine

Adults 50-64Daily Reach %

Average Weekly Hours

14

51% 51%

42%

20% 21%

7%

13%10% 9%

6%9%

21%

4% 4% 4%4%1%

5%

Most Engaging Most Influential Most Trustworthy

Adults 50-64

TV

Internet

Radio

Newspaper

Magazines

OOH

target the spenders witht e l e v i s i o n i s a g r e a t w a y t o d e l i v e r y o u r m e s s a g e - T V a d s a r e r a t e d t h e m o s t e n g a g i n ga n d i n f l u e n t i a l f o r m o f a d v e r t i s i n g

Source: Nlogic OmniVu | National | Dec 2016 (trustworthy) | March 2018 (Engaging/Influential) 15

in summary:• Boomers earn $479B per year - $165B more than millennials -

with an average annual income 72% greater than millennials

• Boomers spend significantly more than millennials in a number of key categories, including groceries, vehicles, home improvements and travel

• Boomers watch a lot of TV: 30 hours per week (47% more than time spent online)

• Boomers find advertising on TV the most engaging and influential

b o o m e r s s p e n d t h e m o s t m o n e y – r e a c h t h e m w i t h t e l e v i s i o n

target the spenders with

“The Boomer is a dynamic consumer and a very valuable one. It’s clear that taking their loyalty for granted, or forsaking them for being too loyal or set in their ways, are both risky approaches.”

-Nielsen Report: “Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation”

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