As has happened since their birth, the insurgence of baby boomers into the landscape of the 50-plus population promises to change the very face of maturity. In the coming years, aging boomers will create totally new patterns of product and service consumption, wealth transfer, travel, health management, leisure, education, parenting, grandparenting, and retirement, to name a few. Their successful transformation will depend upon those industries' understanding of maturing boomers' new currencies and cyclic life stages. Of highest value, time is, and will likely always be, their ultimate luxury. Businesses that allow boomers to save time will always attract their attention.
Comfort is the second boomer currency.
This generation has never experienced the deprivation or patriotic sacrifice required of Great Depression and World War II cohorts. Access is the third and perhaps most visible boomer currency. As they enter maturity, boomers expect their transactions to be easy, both in terms of discovery and performance. Boomers prefer to be rewarded for their savvy, rather than their age. The Life Stage Imperative Following an understanding of their new currencies, the most important step marketers can make in reaching boomers in maturity is to direct messages toward the life stage of subsegments within the larger group.