We Knew Boomers Are Into Sex--But Brand Switching?

Boomers are still among the consumer groups most prone to being mythologized by marketers. And one of the most enduring conventional wisdoms is that the 50+ crowd is so brand-loyal and averse to change that it's not worth the investment to try to win them over to a new brand.

Dead wrong, according to several speakers at the "Focalyst Executive Forum: Innovations and Insights in Reaching Boomers and Older Consumers," a joint venture of AARP Services, Inc. (the organization's for-profit arm for introducing senior-friendly services and products) and Kantar, the research, insight and consultancy arm of WPP.

The latest data from AARP's own extensive, ongoing research shows that 68 percent of boomers--and nearly 60 percent of their parents (aka the "Golden Generation")--say that they research various brands before making a purchase, pointed out Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of AARP Services, during the first day of the New York-based conference.

"Some highly placed businesspeople still believe that older Americans aren't very open to change. That is absolutely a myth, and for businesses, it's a costly myth," she stressed. "Boomers and their parents are at least as likely to switch brands and experiment with new products as teenagers and younger adults."

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That reality is also backed by "The Focalyst View," a just-completed study billing itself as the most comprehensive ever conducted on the 42+ population, with over 30,000 nationally representative respondents.

Among the massive results: Across a broad range of product categories, most respondents say that they do not stick with a brand, but instead research their purchases and make case-by-case decisions.

David van Nostrand, Focalyst's senior VP and chief research officer, reported these percentages of respondents who do not stick with a brand: televisions, 74 percent; apparel, 71 percent; appliances, 67 percent; prepared foods, 56 percent; automobiles, 58 percent; and computers, 61 percent.

"Boomers are not set in their ways, and are not wedded to the same brands" they grew up with, echoed Gail Sheehy--author of the groundbreaking book Passages, as well as New Passages (a 1995 update) and the just-released Sex and the Seasoned Woman: Pursuing the Passionate Life.

As for sex: "Did people really think that we give up the pleasures of touching and being touched for some hobby that utilizes yarn?" quipped Sheehy.

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