The Baby Boomers, the large population growth that began after World War II, has long been known as the “pig in the python”—an image depicting the pig (the huge, sharp population growth) swallowed by the python (the world) and moving through it gradually, having an enormous impact on consumer needs, preferences and spending.
Now there’s another pig: Millennials. Put the two together and housewares suppliers have an opportunity to do “ping pong” branding because the two groups actually have a lot in common and share information, according the experts from AIMsights, a consulting company formed to study Boomers and Millennials and their connections.
“You can no longer look at one generation or the other and narrow the target because of technology and, particularly, the longevity revolution,” said Marsha Everton, leader of the AIMsights project. “They are communicating with and learning from each other.”
Based on their national surveys, AIMsights found, for example, that at least 40 percent of Millennials want information from Boomers on recipes, health care, kitchen products and food choices. Conversely, Boomers want advice from Millennials on electronic brands, technology products and apps.
“Historians 100 years from now will look back and say that the period right before 2000 was the second major technological transformation point after Gutenberg and movable type,” Everton said. One-third of Boomers wanted nothing to do with digital exchange with Millennials, which she attributed to their inability to adapt to this “massive technological disruption.”
