Squiggly Retirement

Baby boomers are living longer than their forebears and redefining retirement as a result. Forget sedate twilight years; they’re seeking stimulating and meaningful pursuits to shape their Third Act of Life, or extending careers to keep mentally keen. Expect upticks in passion-fuelled later-life enterprises and silver tourism.

Fit as a Fiddle

There’s another leisure segment primed to benefit from boomers’ time affluence: fitness. With exercise increasingly understood as part of preventative health (see Fuelling Future Fitness), including improving cognitive function, over 50s have been getting active during the pandemic. Wellness wearables and ability-tailored home workouts are winning with this demographic.

Ageism Blinds Brand Opportunity

Despite boomers’ economic clout – with their average net worth being 12 times greater than millennials’ (Vox, 2019) – everyday ageism is pervasive and rattles self-esteem. Already-meagre media representation of this generation leans on unforgiving clichés, leaving them feeling disconnected from brands.

Tech’s Dark Horses

One stereotype that boomers are quietly chipping away at is the ‘technologically clueless’ perception. Spurred by global lockdowns to explore new communication channels, their engagement in e-commerce, mobile payments and gaming has risen at a faster rate than any other age group.