Maloney on Marketing

Despite the doom and gloom about the global economy, Baby Boomers are bucking the trend.

This free white paper looks at the underlying factors driving the emerging Baby Boomer consumer trends of Maturialism (mature materialism) and SKI-ing (Spending the Kids Inheritance).

It also looks as how they will impact on the need for financial planning services in order for Baby Boomers to continue the level of consumerism they have become accustomed to into retirement.

Download the free white paper: Emerging Baby Boomer Consumer Trends – Maturialism (mature materialism) and SKI-ing (Spending the Kids Inheritance)

But if you couldnt be bothered reading the whole white paper check out some of the key findings below.

Baby Boomer Background

The Baby Boom commenced following World War II, as young soldiers returned home, married, and procreated.

It ended in 1964, potentially as a result of the combination of the Vietnam War, the development of the Pill, and the rise of feminism, which gave women an alternative to marriage and family.

Baby Boomers have been involved in, and have been shaped by, a wealth of significant life experiences, particularly during their formative young adult years.

Some of the most prominent of which were the Vietnam War and the protests against the draft; a ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll’ culture; hippies; feminism; socialism, communism and the Cold War; sporty Mustangs and Volkswagen Beetles; the space race; and the rise of the television as a culture shaping medium, just to name a few.

Baby Boomers in their prime

In Generations – Baby Boomers, their parents & their children , Hugh MacKay comments that the Baby Boomer generation was raised with:

‘a quest for personal happiness, expectation of material comfort and the ideal of egalitarianism’.

Mackay also notes that their parents, the Lucky Generation:

‘are bemused by their Boomer offspring’s solemn commitment to navel-gazing, to self analysis and to the relentless pursuit of personal gratification.’

It is this ‘relentless pursuit of personal gratification’ that is behind the Baby Boomers also being known as the ‘me’ generation, which is a key underlying factor of the maturialism and SKI-ing consumer trends.

Key Baby Boomer consumer trends: Maturialism and SKI-ing

A consumer trend is defined by Trendwatching.com as:

‘a manifestation of something that has ‘unlocked’ or newly serviced an existing (and hardly ever changing) consumer need, desire, want, or value.’

The term maturialism - short for mature materialism – was first coined by Trendwatching.com in 2004, to describe the consumer trend of

‘Baby Boomers’ determination to treat themselves to high-end goods, services and experiences simply because they can afford them.’

This trend is playing out through the rise in sales of luxury apartments, international travel, designer furniture and appliances, luxury cars and motorbikes.

But it is not just in the larger consumer goods that Baby Boomers are upgrading, according to Heartbeat, they are treating themselves at the FMCG end of the market too with cosmetics, food, wine, and fashion all taking a step up in quality and price range now that the kids have left home.

A precursor and related consumer trend to maturialism is known as SKI-ing - or Spending the Kids’ Inheritance - the term derived from a popular bumper sticker.

The Baby Boomer bumper sticker: Spending the Kids Inheritance

This trend prompted Andrew Smith (2005) to write:

‘Baby Boomers have the unique distinction of pissing off both their parents’ and their childrens’ generations’.

The proposed reasoning for the rise of these consumer trends considering the history of the Baby Boomer generation is that they can be:

1. Career-driven. Many Baby Boomers’ self images are defined by their careers and this has been compounded by the explosion of entrepreneurs in the 1970’s and 1980’s (MacKay 1997). It is important to note that now many Baby Boomers are nearing retirement they will desire to keep their status and this may be achieved through consumption.
2. Materialistic. Baby Boomers were raised to expect more than their parents and have been on a spending spree for most of their adulthood. This was the generation that brought about credit cards!
3. Independent. Baby Boomers have always prized their individuality. If breaking rules leads to good experiences and personal growth they will do it. (Trendwatching.com)
4. Selfish. If you don’t fly first class – the kids will! (Kelly 2005)
5. Concerned about the future. MacKay (1997) notes that this generation lived under the possibility of a catastrophic nuclear war – Cold War – and this may explain the ‘live now’ attitude.  

Download the free white paper: Emerging Baby Boomer Consumer Trends – Maturialism (mature materialism) and SKI-ing (Spending the Kids Inheritance)