Quarterlifers as Influencers

Baby Boomers may swell the population charts, yet it seems that quarterlifers--people in their teens, twenties and early thirties--impart a growing influence upon the market.

Certainly in areas of health care like anti-aging, wellness, surgery, assisted living, prescription drugs, and vitamins it is the influence of the aging baby boomers that has driven the billion dollar "wellness revolution."

But in the areas of technology, adventure sports, automobiles, and entertainment (just to name a few) it is today's quarterlifers who carry much clout.

It makes sense. Quarterlifer's in their late twenties and early thirties understand how to use these industries and are willing to pay:

$100 plus for a new iPod or cell phone
$200 plus for an X Box, Blackberry or Palm
$300 plus for a snowboard, rock climbing gear, snowshoes, or an SUV payment
$400 plus for a flat screen computer monitor
$500 plus for a high definition television

While quarterlifers in their teens and early twenties can't readily afford these items (not that, that stops many...hence the growing credit card debt) and Baby Boomers don't quickly understand them, it is the upper age quarterlifers who are buying these items and influencing others to do the same.

Here is an article I recently read titled:Talking about whose Gen X? Infoworld, Netherlands - Feb 3, 2006

The author, Meg Mitchell Moore, points out how this influence results.

One way is through the workplace. Quarterlifers learn the latest technology while in college and as they graduate and enter the workplace they take that technology with them. As Meg points out:

According to David Morrison, president and founder of Twentysomething, a young-adult marketing consultancy, a prime example of Gen X influence lies in the rapid adoption of PDAs 10 years ago. "When PDAs first came out I watched them become embraced by the business schools," he says. But it wasn't until those Gen X business school students graduated and entered the workforce with Palm Pilots in hand, showing them to their older bosses, that they really took off, he says.

A second way that quarterlifers are influencing the market place is through our embrace of the internet. We are gathering and sharing information through email, chat rooms, instant messages, and website forums. Gone are the days of a single big budget advertising message being spread across the country. Today you can go online and read the advice and experience others have had with the product you are interested in. This has changed what people buy. It makes companies more responsible for their product. Gimmicks, mis-representation and hype don't cut it with quarterlifers.

A third way quarterlifer's have changed the market place is through our early embrace of our parents' lifestyle. We want the luxury and entertainment they experience...but don't want to pay a fortune for it. Take the wine industry for example. Once an indulgence for the rich, today liquor shelves are stocked with $6- $13 dollar bottles. As Meg pointed out:

The wine industry has also started listening to Gen X. "Gen X-ers have everything to do with the ratification of wine snobbery; they're not seduced by ‘wine for the rich,'" he says. "Gen X has created a larger platform from which wine companies and brands can create additional subbrands."

A forth reason why quarterlifers impart influence over the market is that parents and grandparents now actively seek out the advice of their children before purchasing new technology.Once upon a time it was faintly embarrassing--for everyone involved--if parents asked their children for advice. Now boomer parents consistently seek Gen X-ers' counsel before making purchases, particular technology items like cell phones or digital cameras. Gen X-ers are more comfortable with online shopping, and more adept at navigating message boards or other online communities that publish product ratings or consumer opinions. "I doubt that there's a piece of technology that's bought by the older generations without the advice of a Gen X-er," says Fishman.

These are several of many reasons why quarterlifers are being targeted in the market place. Either we are the direct buyers of products or we are the major influencers behind the purchase for other groups.

Let me know your thoughts. Are their other reasons why companies are targeting us so strongly?