Marketing to Boomer Women

From "Marketing to Boomer Women" (http://www.marketingprofs.com/5/barletta1.asp):

Women 50+ in age constitute a market force to be reckoned with. ...They are in their prime ... this is the healthiest, wealthiest, most influential generation of women in history, and terms like mature (overripe), middle-aged (frumpy) and senior (out to pasture) fail to convey their vitality and potential.

These women should be the primary marketing target for a host of industries, including travel, autos, real estate, finance services, technology and home improvement. Yet they are all too often ignored by marketers, who retain an outdated obsession with youth. This group has money and the time to spend it, and those who recognize its potential will prosper.

... PrimeTime Women will represent the center of the marketing universe for the next two decades. Consider this: In 2000, 37% of the adult US population was 50 or older; by 2010 that figure will rise to 43%. (New York Times, 25 July 2001) In 2001, the 50+ group held $29.1 trillion in net worth, or 69% of the US total—up from 56% in 1983. (AARP State of 50+ in America Report, 2004.)

Changes in society, culture and the economy are resulting in huge demographic shifts. Marketers who ignore these trends and continue to focus on younger, male targets will see sales and share decrease as a result, since adults 50+ buy $2 trillion worth of goods and services each year (Gary Onks, SoldOnSeniors, Inc. ) and spend 2.5 times as much as younger consumers on a per capita basis (Ken Dychtwald, Age Power).