From Business Insider:
“We’re well past the peak of ‘OK, boomer,’ the meme, but we’re still in the midst of ‘OK, boomer,’ the sentiment, as in ‘OK, maybe it’s time for you to give up some of the reins.’
“Baby boomers are a giant generation, with some 76 million babies born from 1946 to 1964. Over the course of their lifetimes, they’ve dominated American society – from their 1950s childhoods to the rebellious 1960s and 1970s to the family-oriented 1980s, the country grew up with them. While their influence has started to fade somewhat, the generation is not moving gently into their golden years.
“American business leaders are getting older, with the average CEO being nearly 60 years old (right on the Gen X/boomer line, though plenty are on the elder side). Some baby boomer executives, including Disney’s Bob Iger and Starbucks’ Howard Schultz, boomeranged back into the top job. The median age in the US Senate is 65 years old. The country has yet to have had a Gen X or millennial president — America’s 42nd, 43rd, and current presidents were all born in the same year, 1946. Baby boomers are holding onto their houses, and they control a disproportionate amount of wealth. Even in Hollywood, many older (generally male) stars are still dominating the silver screen — Tom Cruise, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt, who I regret to inform you is, indeed, a boomer.”
Business Insider writes that “one of the main reasons baby boomers are sticking around is the simple fact that they’re living for a long time. US life expectancy was 68 in 1950; it’s now 79. Longer life spans have led to people across all age groups living their lives more slowly — they’re getting married later, having children later, and buying homes later. This chronological extension happens for older people, too, who may retire later and stay in their homes longer.”
But, “It’s not just longevity that’s a factor. Retirement has become more precarious as workplaces have shifted away from traditional pensions, and some older people have no choice but to continue working. Social Security also incentivizes people to put off hanging up the professional towel because benefits are lower if you retire and start collecting a little early, and higher if you collect later. Outside the financial incentives, many boomers just prefer to keep working — they think it keeps them healthy, and their identities are deeply intertwined with it. After all, boomers were the generation that practically invented hustle culture.”
KC’s View:
As much as some of the numbers and trends reported by Morning Consult that I cited in FaceTime this morning seem foreign to my existence, this story resonated deeply with me. I just turned 71, and still am doing MNB, plus booking speeches for 2026. And while I cut back on my MNB schedule, I’ve replaced those hours with things like the stand up comedy class I’m taking; I think that the thing that many baby boomers share is a a desire to try new things, to challenge ourselves.
(Not every baby boomer, to be sure. I have friends a couple of years younger than me who would love to spend all their time playing golf or on their sailboats. Nothing wrong with that – I’ve always been in the “whatever gets you through the night” camp.)
I also recognise something else described in the Business Insider story:
“Perhaps the most fraught intergenerational issue of the day is the one that hits closest to home, literally. Many boomers have been resistant to selling their homes and downsizing for a variety of reasons – they’re still confident they can stay in their family homes, health-wise; they’ve invested a lot of money and time in their abodes; and they don’t want to take on a new, higher-interest mortgage. But even when they are moving, they’re not really moving down the housing ladder — they’re moving laterally.”
Once we decided not to move from Connecticut to the Pacific Northwest (partially because Mrs. Content Guy saw Portland as being problematic post-Covid, but largely because two of our three kids live near us and she thinks that grandchildren could be in our future), we’ve stayed in the house that we’ve occupied for 41+ years. While we probably could sell it in about 48 hours based on how local homes are moving, where would we go? Sure, selling the house would allow younger folks to move into the neighborhood, but we might actually have to spend more money if we want to stay local, and the last thing I want at this point is a new mortgage.
All of which is a long way of saying that Business Insider essentially is saying that there are a lot of people like us – in some ways, a new demographic cohort. We’re rooted in family, friends and place for lots of good reasons, but also desirous of new experiences and persistent relevance.
That strikes me as a business opportunity for retailers who want to cater to us. We may not spend as much money as our children, who may be having their own children and therefore are at the center of the marketing bullseye, but we could be a profitable sub-cohort for retailers that want to find their ways into our hearts, minds, stomachs, and wallets. I’m not talking about just putting smaller sized products on shelves and hoping that we find them; I am talking about being both ambitious and aggressive about targeting people like us.
I think we’ll be loyal to the retailers who actually see us. We, in theory, won’t be able to let go. To your benefit.
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