If life were a game of Monopoly, many marketers would be preparing to “go back to go,” according to a report by The Nielsen Co. and BoomAgers LLC titled “Boomers: Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation.” Once a generation reaches the cut-off age of 49, marketers typically turn their focus to a younger group in the 18- to 49-year-old range, the report states. However, this shift in attention is not such a great idea, it suggests.

Although the group of consumers between the ages of 18 and 49 is expected to grow 12 percent between now and 2030, the 50-plus segment will expand 34 percent, the report says. Currently, the baby boomer generation (ages 49-67) consists of approximately 80 million U.S. consumers — that’s more than the populations of the United Kingdom, Israel and Switzerland combined, it adds. And in five years, half of the U.S. population will be older than 50, and they will control
70 percent of the country’s disposable income, it states.

Although it’s easy to think that boomers will spend less as they age, the opposite is actually true, according to the report. Boomers have worked hard, and after they retire they will play hard, which means transitioning from making money to spending money, the report states. 

 Boomers dominate 94 percent of consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories and spend close to 50 percent of all CPG dollars, yet it is estimated that less than 5 percent of advertising dollars are targeted to adults between the ages of 35 and 64, the report notes. With this in mind, where will beverage-makers direct their marketing dollars in the coming years?