Baby Boomers account for 33.7% of sales in the United States, down 10 points since 2020, but they still are a formidable consumer generation.
The ongoing Numerator Generations Hub study of verified purchase and survey data indicated Boomer income levels skew lower than younger generations with 21% earning more than $125,000 annually, 51% falling into the middle-income $40,000–$125,000 range and 28% generating less than $40,000.
However, changing circumstances can shift consumer demand of consumers and how shoppers spend discretionary dollars. For example, as Numerator pointed out, 92% of Boomer households don’t include children at home these days, with 83% living in households of two people or fewer. Yet, even if life circumstances might have changed, it’s still tougher to coax Boomers away from familiar labels, as 26% report that they rarely or almost never consider switching from their favorite brand.
Yet, circumstances may prompt Boomers to make changes. Eight in 10 regard clean living to be important, according to the Numerator research, the highest proportion of any generation. Just more than half indicated that they review product labels closely, while 43% avoid certain ingredients and 25% avoid buying aerosol products, all, again, at significantly higher rates than other generations.
The average Boomer household spends $21,048 annually on consumer packaged goods, general merchandise and quick-service restaurants, and it makes 733 shopping trips a year. Spending breaks down to $29 per trip. When it comes to where they spend, Walmart comes out on top, getting 17% of Boomer dollars, followed by Amazon at 9%, Costco at 5%, Kroger at 4% and Home Depot at 3%.
Four in 10 Boomers live in suburbs, 32% live in rural communities and, the fewest, at 28%, live in urban environments. In another consideration, according to Numerator, Boomers remain the least multicultural generation, with 77% identifying as White, 12% as Black, 7% as Hispanic and 2% as Asian.
