Boomers Have Money, Gen Y Has Influence

Want to influence shoppers to buy your brand? Revenues falling even with a targeted search campaign and building buzz through social networks? Then you may not have the right people involved. Kids are the influencers today.

by Kristina Knight

That is the word from online marketing expert Kelly Mooney. At the National Retail Federation’s conference this week, Mooney released her findings that teens are influencing more than food or clothing purchases.

Generation Y – those born between 1982 and 2000 – influences 81% of the family clothing buys and 52% of automobile purchases. At an estimated 82 million people, that makes Generation Y the most influential group of consumers, beating out even the baby boomer generation.

What marketers need to remember is that Generation Y influences purchases, but the Baby Boomer generation still has the deepest pockets. So integrating your campaigns is likely the best way to reach the most consumers.

Forrester principal analyst Charlene Li said (via MarketingVOX), "Marketers must start with search and layer on site messaging in the media that resonate with target consumers: buzz, blogs, and banners for Gen Yers, deep search and word of mouth for Gen Xers, print and product packaging for Boomers, and the written word for Seniors.”