What About Generation X?

By Alexa Boschini
Associate Editor, Home Accents Today

In sales and marketing, much of the current conversation about generational dynamics centers on Baby Boomers, people in their 50s and 60s who have traditionally maintained the greatest buying power, and millennials, adults in the 18 to early 30s age range whose consumer habits still baffle many businesses.

But what about the generation in between them? A 2014 report from Pew Research Center calls Generation X “America’s neglected middle child.” But Xers – many of whom own homes, have families and are approaching their peak earning years – are a viable consumer base often overlooked in favor of the buzzed-about generations that bookend them.

“Right now with Boomers, there is a lot of excitement because there’s a demographic shift going on,” said Scott Zimmer, a Gen Xer, generational expert and keynote speaker with Bridgeworks, which offers consulting services, workshops and other training programs about generational dynamics in the workplace and marketplace. “Ten thousand Boomers in the U.S. are turning 65 every day. With Boomers, they’ve redefined every life stage they’ve touched — youth culture, the workplace and now retirement.

“On the consumer side (Gen X) is the generation that is now establishing families. Consumer-wise, they’re in a house with kids, they’re buying homes, so they are very vital to what’s going on in terms of the marketplace. But there’s so much excitement around how to reach millennials because they’re buying completely different from other generations.”

Read more at homeaccentstoday.com.