Boomer Grandparents
A Booming Market
By Andrew C. Schneider
May 14, 2002

In the five and a half decades since they first began arriving on the scene, the baby boomers have transformed every American institution with which they've come in contact, from popular music to parenthood. Now that the older boomers are in their late 40s and 50s, they're making their mark on grandparenting.

Just under 20 million, or about 30%, of U.S. grandparents are boomers--people born between 1946 and 1964--and their ranks will swell to 32 million by 2007. Boomer grandparents spend roughly 29% of the $50.3 billion doled out annually by U.S. grandparents on products and services for their grandkids, according to data compiled by the Census Bureau and by the polling firm RoperASW.

Although boomer grandparents are not expected to spend any more on their grandchildren than other grandparents do, the sheer number of boomers approaching grandparenthood suggests that it's wise for retailers and other businesses to pay attention to what they are buying and how they view their grandparenting role.

Phil Goodman, president and owner of Generation Transitional Marketing, says that baby boomers want to be more of a presence in their grandchildren's everyday lives than grandparents of earlier generations were. This attitude stems partly from the fact that many boomers have the demands of raising children fresh in their minds. Many of them have children from second or third marriages who are almost the same age as grandchildren from their first marriages. Furthermore, remembering the notorious generation gap that colored their own relations with their parents, boomers see helping with grandchildren as one way to keep communication going between them and their own children.

As the ranks of boomer grandparents grow, you'll see more taking responsibility for child care. Grandparents will become more involved in day-to-day purchases--what cereals to serve for breakfast or what to pack for lunch. And since baby boomers tend to be more health conscious than previous generations, they're likely to seek out health foods and vitamins for kids. Also, boomer grandparents will spend more on transportation than other grandparents, shuttling kids to soccer practice and other activities. They'll be much more likely than older grandparents to purchase sport-utility vehicles--and, to a lesser extent, minivans--to make their chauffeur duties easier.

The travel industry will be one of the biggest beneficiaries as boomer grandparents shell out big bucks to vacation with their grandkids, particularly on trips that can broaden their grandchildren's minds. Eco-friendly cruise packages, river rafting and other adventure tours will be major attractions. Grandkids will have a major say in how the family's travel money is spent, ranging from the choice of destination to the purchase of second homes or time-shares.

Grandparents who don't live near their grandchildren will spend freely on airplane and train tickets and road trips to visit them more frequently than older grandparents. Moreover, they'll be more likely to sign up for Internet accounts to keep in touch with their grandkids by e-mail or instant messaging.

Then there's the entertainment market. Having grown up on rock and roll, boomers will be far more likely than their senior parents to share their grandchildren's musical interests. That means not only that they'll spend more on compact discs for their grandkids, but also that they'll be joining them in the stands at rock concerts. Similarly, they'll be more likely to take them out to restaurants, movies and sporting events.

But education concerns will also shape entertainment purchases. Interactive computer games that teach learning skills, such as those featuring the character Thomas the Tank Engine, will be at a premium. Boomers will also focus on nontraditional gifts, such as museum memberships or even wild animal adoptions through the World Wildlife Fund.

Boomers will continue to spend money on the usual fare, such as toys and clothing, but they will go about it with an eye toward keeping themselves informed. If an educational game is something that grandparents can play with their grandkids, so much the better. Kathy Whitehouse, a senior consultant with SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, says that boomer grandparents will be more likely than their own parents to pay attention to sources such as Consumer Reports, not only to assess a gift's educational value but also to gauge its usefulness, safety and durability.

Probably the best way to appeal to boomer grandparents is to emphasize two things: education and shared experience. For big-ticket items, a major hook is the desire to give grandkids a wider range of experiences, particularly to things the boomers wish they could have experienced as kids but that their parents couldn't afford. Adventure travel certainly fits that marketing profile, but so do many other things, such as space camp or computer camp and private lessons in painting, music or other artistic endeavors.

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