This report looks at the Baby Boomer generation as a large but underserved group that continues to redefine the attitudes and spending habits of aging consumers. This report analyzes information found in the Simmons National Consumer Survey, as well as proprietary research on Boomers, fielded by Mintel, to explore Boomers’ attitudes toward money and investments, shopping, leisure activities, advertising and media.

Accounting for nearly 30% of the U.S. population, the Baby Boomer generation is important not only because of its size, but also because it represents the wealthiest generation in the U.S., with an estimated annual spending power of over $2 trillion. Many marketers stop there and conceive of “Boomers” as a large, wealthy target. In reality, Boomers are an extremely diverse population in terms of tastes, spending priorities, financial concerns, living situations, interests and expectations. Although the shared experiences of the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement may have helped to shape their values and cultural mores, significant disparities in income, educational background, and habitation patterns persist.

Mintel defines Baby Boomers as individuals born between 1947 and 1966. In 2006, these individuals ranged in age from 40 to 59 years old. Due to the size and diversity of the Baby Boomers, Mintel has divided the group into two sub-segments, the “Older” boomers, born between 1947 and 1956, and the “Younger” Boomers, born between 1957 and 1966. Immigration to the United States across age groups has caused the current size of the Baby Boomer group in the United States to surge to a projected total of nearly 84 million in 2006.

Survey findings discussed in this report are based on the Fall 2005 Simmons NCS survey fielded among 24,617 adults aged 18 and over (including 9,700 Baby Boomers). This report also contains an analysis of Mintel’s unique Baby Boomer Spending Patterns consumer survey, conducted among 691 respondents aged 42-60 by Greenfield Online in October 2006.