• by Nancy Shonka Padberg , October 17, 2012

Marketers, start your holiday campaign engines! If you are not including Baby Boomers in your target audience, your competitors will be. Baby Boomers buy for themselves but also for their parents and their children. In fact, Baby Boomer women influence 80% of household buying decisions. 

Baby Boomers spending, according to Forrester Research, include telecom, mobile, gadget and devices and overall online purchases. Boomers averaged $650 spent online vs. Gen X at $581 and Gen Y at $429. Baby Boomers also spend more on computer systems than other generations, $850 vs $820 on average. It also is worth noting that Boomers’ Internet behavior includes: 91% use email, 88% use search engines, 80% research health and 74% get news.

As a professional in the media or marketing industry, you have read various facts and stats about Boomers. Here are stats where Baby Boomers have significant impact: 

Baby Boomers ages 47- 66 purchase: 

• 67% of new cars
  
  
• 74% of prescription drugs 

• 51% of over-the counter drugs

• 42% of online travel

• 80% of luxury travel (those over 50) 

• $157 billion worth of leisure travel annually

• 8 out of 10 own their homes

• 1 out of 4 have a vacation home

Baby Boomers are buying smartphones, iPads, big screens, Kindles for themselves and for gifts. iPads  and Kindles make excellent gifts for Boomer parents as they are easy to see and use. Baby Boomer’s hold 70% of the U.S. wealth and will be inheriting billions more. Is your brand engaging them?