The word Boomers sounds more buoyant than Seniors or Old Folks, wouldn’t you say? But who are these darling Boomers? Do they really boom? You bet your pension cheque they do.

Baby Boomers were born between the years 1946 to 1964, and this generation is the fastest growing in the United States and Canada; however, an eclipse with Gen X is about to occur. Boomers are expected to grow by 50% over the next ten years in Canada, and they are increasing by 10,000 per day in the United States. Of note, the largest per cent of this demographic is fifty-nine—not that old, are they? They are an important demographic group, especially for marketers.

Since I fit into this group, I have been researching us. What we are all about. What are we doing? What are we interested in? What are we reading? Where are we visiting? 

The Boomer generation is different from the people of similar age two generations ago. Between the ages of 65 and 85, they spend more than 7,000 days and have high expectations for how they spend them. We live healthier since we are better informed, we are more active (most of us), we love to socialize, our technology savviness is increasing, and we travel more.

Boomers are emboldened and dynamic. We ask questions, demand answers, do our research, and compare services among suppliers. We expect higher personalized customer service than our parents, but this is currently lacking. Companies who supply this group had better do their homework and track our preferences. Boomers are not a large homogenous group. We are not a one-size-fits-all group.