You Need To Know The Attitudes And Behaviors Of Your Target Demographic

As consumers flow through their peak spending years their attitudes and behaviors change based on the life experiences of their generation. Here are few key demographic attributes you should keep in mind as you try to attract the most fertile segment of the market.

When a typical consumer is in their 20s they are building a career and starting a family, which they raise through their 30s and 40s. Therefore, 20-somethings are buying their first new cars and starter homes, while 30 and 40-somethings are buying bikes for their kids, traveling to Disney, and upgrading to a SUV to take kids to their sporting events. By their mid-40s through their mid-50s their kids have grown and consumers have reached their peak spending potential. They may be buying that sports car they always wanted or upgrading their home. Through their mid-50s until their mid-60s consumers get more conservative and begin saving more and making plans for retirement.  From their mid-60s onward consumers downsize and live out their golden years in retirement.

NOTE: More detailed age-based spending trends can be found in Harry Dent’s demand curves.

A person’s age and life-stage can help predict their purchasing decisions. These predictable behaviors are a major driver of the US economy. However, there are a few more specific generational dynamics that have to be considered to provide a clearer picture of these economic drivers.

Silent Generation Attitudes and Behaviours

Members of the Silent Generation lived their formative years during an era of suffocating conformity, They lived through the postwar happiness and prosperity. Women were pre-feminist movement and women stayed home to raise children or worked as teachers, nurses, and secretaries while men pledged loyalty to the corporation. This generation was raised by parents that survived the great depression and lived thru the McCarthy era which shaped their attitudes and behaviors.  They lived through a period of post-war prosperity but were reluctant to be activists except when it came to civil rights.  They are avid readers, especially of newspapers. They are now retired and are the richest retirees in history and spend freely in their retirement. 

Boomer Attitudes and Behaviours

Early Boomers lived their formative years with Vietnam and witnessed the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. They lived through the Civil Rights movement and in the end, are largely optimistic about the future. They had good economic opportunities growing up, which shaped their attitudes and behaviors. This generation spent freely during their peak spending years (late 40 to early 50s), fueling the .com era. They are now entering retirment and leave the workforce.

Late Boomers lived their formative years with Watergate, which shaped their general mistrust of government. The oil embargo and other economic struggles squelched their optimism about the future. The AIDS epidemic reinforced the “I’ve got to look out for number one” mindset. This generation has just passed their peak spending years, which fueled the housing bubble. They are entering their savings and investing period as they get ready for their retirement years.

Gen X Attitudes and Behaviours

Members of Gen X were left alone to fend for themselves. Most were dropped off at daycare as very young children. When they reached school age they returned home to an empty house. Commonly, either both of their parents worked or they were a product of a broken home. Although they are generally well educated, the fact that they grew up without a cohesive family unit has impacted this generation. Gen X pays little attention to the news or social issues and is characterized by cynicism and an attitude of “What’s in it for me”. This generation is just now reaching their peak spending years but is 20 percent smaller in size than the previous generation which will lead to some economic contraction.

Millennials (Gen Y) Attitudes and Behaviours

Gen Y’s are the children of the Baby Boomers. They lived their formative years with technology and grew up watching cable TV and playing on the Internet. Gen Y is known as “Digital Pioneers” and bore wit­ness to the explo­sion of tech­nol­o­gy and social media. As a result, they are inoculated against most traditional marketing efforts. While this generation was also often raised in single-parent households or homes where both parents worked, their family units were much more intact than those of Gen X. This generation is just now starting their careers and beginning to raise their families.

Gen Z Attitudes and Behaviours

Members of the Gen Z generation, sometimes referred to as Zoomers, lived their formative years during the COVID-19 pandemic and witnessed many of their Gen Z parents quitting their corporate jobs during the big quit or leaving the office to work from home. Gen­ Z is known as “Digital Natives” and were born into a world of peak tech­no­log­i­cal inno­va­tion, where infor­ma­tion was imme­di­ate­ly acces­si­ble and social media increas­ing­ly ubiquitous. Another char­ac­ter­is­tics of Gen­ Z is racial diver­si­ty. Gen Z will be the last gen­er­a­tion that is pre­dom­i­nant­ly white. The back­drop of their ear­ly years includ­ed the country’s first Black pres­i­dent and the legal­iza­tion of gay mar­riage. They are more like­ly to have grown up in a mul­ti-racial house­hold, or a house­hold in which gen­der roles were blurred. As a result, they are less fazed than pre­vi­ous gen­er­a­tions by dif­fer­ences in race, sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion, or religion. Men­tal health chal­lenges are a char­ac­ter­is­tic of Gen­ Z since they spent end­less hours online, using smart­phones and binge watch­ing Net­flix, fos­tered feel­ings of iso­la­tion and depres­sion. Gen Z vs. More time spent less time fostering meaningful relationships and fell prey to the ​“com­pare and despair” trap that social media presents.

Gen A (Alpha) Attitudes and Behaviours

Members of the Gen A generation, sometimes referred to as Generation Alpha, grew up in a world shaped by unprecedented technological integration and significant social upheavals. Their formative years have been shaped by global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced them to concepts of global interdependence and remote living from a young age. As the children of Millennials, they are true digital natives, never knowing a world without smartphones, tablets, and AI-driven technologies, which fundamentally shape their learning and social interactions deeply influenced by technology from a very early age. This generation is witnessing the evolution of family dynamics, where diverse structures and fluid gender roles are becoming the norm, encouraging an early acceptance of a range of racial and gender identities. The backdrop of their formative years includes the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, intensified environmental activism, and significant social justice movements, notably the protests following the death of George Floyd. These events are fostering a keen sense of justice and a commitment to inclusivity, with Generation Alpha more routinely using pronouns and engaging with concepts of identity from a young age. Mental health, a pivotal aspect of their upbringing, is approached with an openness that differs from previous generations. While Generation Z began to break down the stigma around discussing mental health, Generation Alpha is likely to witness an even greater normalization of these conversations.

The Generational Divide is Closing

While a person’s attitudes and behaviors are influenced by their formative years, six forces are breaking down many of the traditional generational boundaries. According to Thomas Koulopoulos and Dan Keldsen the authors of the Gen Z Effect, factors such as increased life expectancy, the rise of influencers, increased access to education and lifetime learning, hyper-connectivity, easy-to-use technology, and the speed of innovation are six forced closing the generational gaps.

We will discuss the six forces that have contributed to “the Gen Z Effect” in much more detail in a future post.

Do you understand the attitudes and behaviors of your target demographic?