Wednesday, December 8, 2010

For Boomers, Love is a Match Made Online. One More Reason Why Marketers Still Need to Target Boomers

According to Time Magazine, Baby Boomers have been diving into the online dating pool in bigger numbers than any other demographic. The 50-to-65 age group is Match.com’s fastest-growing demographic, up 89% in the last five years. At JDate.com, the website for Jewish singles, members in the 50-plus age group jumped 40% in just one year, from 2008 to 2009. This statistic provides a couple of fascinating insights into the Boomer psyche. First, it demonstrates the Boomers are anything but stuck in their ways, not only adapting to new technology, but also to the adventure of meeting new people and doing new things. Second, as over 70 percent of Match.com’s daters age 50-to-65 report being divorced, they’re obviously an optimistic bunch, as well.

Source: Time Magazine

(On January 1, 2011, the first of the Baby Boom generation begins to turn 65. While marketers have traditionally viewed anyone over 49 as over the hill, there are compelling reasons why overlooking Boomers isn’t smart for business. During the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting 65 of those reasons.)