Baby Boomers are more important today than ever — and it’s about time the fashion industry, retailers and advertisers caught on, according to David Wolfe, creative director of the Doneger Group.
Speaking at the Doneger office in New York to an industry audience last week, Wolfe said Baby Boomers, defined as those born in the post-WWII period, 1946 to 1964:
- Total 80 million in America.
- Are now 42 to 60 years old.
- Control $7 trillion, 70 percent of all assets in the U.S.
- Spend $38 billion a year collectively on all products and services.
With their children leaving the nest and many still working, this demographic’s disposable income is at a peak. Boomers have the funds, but they don’t have clothing they want to buy, Wolfe said.
According to Wolfe, the fashion industry is youth-obsessed, and that’s a mistake. The average American spends $562 a year on clothes, but 18- to 34-year-olds spend 36 percent less at $359 — buying toys and technology instead of apparel. When you add seniors to Baby Boomers, according to Wolfe, the spending power of the older population is even more staggering.
- They spend 75 percent more on vacations than people aged 18 to 49.
- They buy 41 percent of all cars and 80 percent of new luxury cars.
- They spend $7 billion a year online, logging more Internet hours than teens.
- Half own personal computers; 92 percent of those shop online and 78 percent have bought online.
Faced with a dearth of age-appropriate clothing options, older women instead funnel money into accessories, driving the accessory boom, Wolfe claimed. “Boomers are spending all of this money, but they aren’t spending it on fashion. But they want to be.”