Baby Boomer Insights

FirstSTREET provides role model for companies that want to snag Boomers who shop online

Well, in a couple of days it'll be Halloween. You know what that means: our mailboxes are being stuffed daily with Christmas catalogs. There's nothing like  shopping  while in sugar shock from "fun" sizes of Milky Way Midnight and Laffy Taffy, huh?

Count me among the growing number of Boomers who are increasingly turning to catalogs and online shopping sites to avoid going to the mall. Mind you, I still go to the mall, usually at 7 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, but I don't buy much. I'm there for ideas and price comparisons. When I get home, I spend hours online looking for ways to get exactly what I want and have it delivered to my front door. It's getting easier to find online retail sites, but it's still rare to find one that really "gets" how to appeal to Boomers  (probably because too many retailers still think online shoppers are  20-somethings and 30-somethings).

This year, I'll be doing some shopping at FirstSTREET (marketing tag: For Boomers and Beyond). I heard about it from a friend and I'm telling all my friends. That's the first takeaway from this post: Boomers love word-of-mouth... we ask for opinions and we love sharing ours, so companies that want to target us need to get some Boomer advocates on their side.

What I love about FirstSTREET is that it has gadgets and innovative items I haven't yet seen in retail stores, probably because it's easier to introduce new products online than on shelves. That means there's a greater chance of finding something unique.

FirstSTREET is a great role model for how to develop an online shopping site that follows the thought pattern and habits of Boomers. Take the way they present products, for example. You can shop "for the grandchildren," "retro," "life stages" and much more. As a result, visitors are encouraged to spend more time on the site looking at recommendations and checking out products for our parents, as well as for ourselves.

The thought process behind selling to Boomers doesn't stop with the online offerings and ease of use of the web site, though.  One of the things I like most about FirstSTREET is that when they send instructions for items that require assembly, the type is large, the pictures are huge and the directions are pretty idiot-proof. My kind of assembly guide!

If you do have to call customer service, that's what you get - service. The reps have been trained to  be patient, respectful and helpful. (They also say "m'am" or "sir" which I could do without, but it beats "yeah" and "uh huh.")

In short, FirstSTREET has made a conscious decision to target Boomers and it's working. Rather than develop an online retail site that is "also" for Boomers, they put a stake in the ground and said, "we're going after this market and for once the others can catch up." Bravo!

This time next year, you'll be reading about a lot of copy-cat sites developed by retailers who decided to get on the clue train and embrace those of us who want to patronize companies that seem to want to do business with us.

Let me (and readers of this blog) know about other great shopping sites that target Boomers!

P.S. I have never worked with FirstSTREET in any capacity and am not attempting to drive traffic to its site because I - or Edelman - will benefit in any way. I just really like the site and love the word-of-mouth that it has created!

When the "Me Generation" becomes the "Wii Generation"

I saw a really fun video today that made me think for the first time that living in a retirement community (or "active adult" community, as they're more frequently called), might not be so bad after all.  The video showed residents of Monarch Landing, an Erickson community outside Chicago. They were having the time of their lives competing in bowling tournaments. The kicker was not one ever picked up a ball.

That's right - these residents were doing virtual bowling using the Wii, a video game system made by Nintendo. In case you haven't seen it, Wii is similar to a TV remote control that you hold in your hand. The console is connected to your TV and you can select any number of sports, from bowling to tennis to golf, you name it. You play the game virtually by swinging the Wii control as you watch the sport on TV... and the bigger the screen the better.

Anyway, these folks were really getting into this game! What a great way to use a product that was built for and marketed to teenagers. What's more, it's another way for folks to bond with younger generations, especially grandchildren. That's the kind of cool grandmother I want to be. (So, Katy and Sydney - pay attention here - you're always wondering what to buy me for Christmas!)

Things like Wii tournaments are a great example of how Boomers will retire differently from their parents. First of all, most of us expect to work a lot longer, thinking 62 is as good an age to start a career as stop one. That's why a lot of Boomers say they still want to have an office in their home, so it's easier to transition back and forth between leisure, volunteerism and working part-time.

What's more, Boomers expect their future communities to offer many of the same amenities younger people want: hiking trails, gyms, pools, concierge services, pet-friendly policies and locations convenient to shopping and medical services. Several studies show that the younger the Boomer, the more likely s/he is to want an entirely new home in retirement. Many Boomers intend to upgrade their existing home or at least stick close to where they live now.

Although I don't remember now where I read it, I saw a piece recently about how Boomers even eschew the typical "Grandma and Grandpa" nicknames. Many want to be called by their first names and one nickname rising in popularity for men is Grand-dude.

Since the average age of a first-time grandparent is now 48, it would behoove marketers to pay close attention to the messages they send regarding retired Boomers and especially Boomer grandparents. For instance, if you want  us to buy pain reliever, show us bringing on the pain through vigorous sporting activities, not arthritis.

And while you're at it, consider sponsoring a Wii tournament or something similar, rather than a bridge or bingo tournament!

Boomers start filing for Social Security benefits today

Today is a significant day in the land of Boomers. It's the first day a Boomer can sign up to receive Social Security benefits. Doing so means you're declaring you're officially retired at age 62, the earliest this generation can start receiving monthly checks. (In case you forgot, Congress changed the law so that those born after 1960 have to wait until they're at least 67 to draw benefits.)

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, who is widely recognized as the first Boomer born in the U.S. (January 1, 1946 at 12:00:01 a.m. in Philadelphia), told USA Today last week that she plans to file for early retirement and take just 75% of what she would draw if she waited until age 65. "I could be dead next year!" she said. "So why not take it this year?"

If you believe the pundits, statistically, a lot of people seem to agree with Kathleen. Some studies indicate that 49% of men and 53% of women turning 62 next year intend to file early retirement. In 2008, there are 3.2 million Boomers turning 62 - or a whopping 365 PER HOUR. You don't have to be a mathematician to quickly figure out that's a boatload of money that will be paid out in monthly checks starting in January.

Read this story for all the statistics, which are mind-boggling. The net is, by 2030, when my daughter is 45, it will take two working people to pay for the benefits drawn by each retiree. In other words, every working couple in America will have its own retiree to support. (This is the entire premise of the very entertaining book, "Boomsday," by the way. I highly recommend it. I laughed and cringed the entire time I was reading it!)

Every Boomer has his/her own rationale for drawing checks early, not the least of which is that a lot of them feel they're savvy investors who could actually make more money by investing their 75% now than by waiting until they can receive the full 100% benefit.

Interested in how much you'd receive based on when you file? Here are three calculators provided by the Social Security Administration. Even if you've done the calculation before, you'll probably still be surprised at just how little you'll be able to draw.

That's one reason Boomers aren't expected to fully retire. Many will want to check out this section of the Social Security Administration site to figure out how much they can make working while still drawing Social Security benefits.

This story is going to have long legs... expect the pundits, politicians and journalists to chew on the issue of whether there needs to be a change in how benefits are paid out and when.  But just keep in mind that what we have here is the perfect "chicken little" scenario. I'm not yet convinced Boomers are all going to rush to the SS Administration the moment they can apply for benefits. There's just too much work left in a lot us.

How about you? Will you take your benefits as soon as you can?

Having a "Senior Moment" or something else? Let's find a new name for these times that have nothing to do with being senior

I've been thinking about "senior moments" a lot this week, perhaps because I've been having a lot of them. First, let me say I think we need to find a new name for those times when we Boomers have a temporary lapse in memory, or we do something that shows not even a passing acquaintance with logic (like putting a wallet in the fridge). I'm thinking maybe we're undergoing "system maintenance."  After all, that's what the IT department calls it when they take the computer network down for a short time, rendering our processors temporarily unavailable.

I certainly find myself having  having more "system maintenance" moments since I turned 50. Just yesterday, in fact, I had two. First, I got dressed up on casual Friday, putting on a dressy fall jacket I hadn't worn yet this season. After admiring myself in the mirror, I hopped in the car and took off for work. The further I drove, the more uncomfortable I was. The cloth belt and buckle on the back of the jacket was digging into my back and making me crazy. When I got to where I was going, I got out and ran my hand along the back of my jacket to see if perhaps the buckle had gotten twisted. Imagine my surprise when a thick plastic coat hanger fell onto the ground!

That very afternoon when I got home, I noticed the trash can right in the middle of the driveway. I couldn't believe my husband had been so careless. He knows I like to coast right into the garage. Odder still, the garage door was already up, leading me to think he must be in the yard. So I blew the horn to summon him to move the can. No answer. Finally, I got out and rolled the can into the garage (fussing the entire time),.  As I was moving the can I said to myself, "Well, look at that! Ralph caulked the cracks in the driveway! That looks much better!" In synch with the last syllable, I felt my heel sink into fresh caulk. Now mind you, I still drove on into the garage without ever making the connection that the can was purposely placed to prevent me from doing exactly that!

As I entered the house, Ralph said, "I guess you saw I caulked the driveway and left the can out so you'd know not to drive into the garage." Oops.

These events got me to wondering if there were memory games available for Boomers, beyond the usual Solitaire. Sure enough, a quick Internet search revealed Senior Moments (With the clever ad tag, "You can't remember the last time you played a game like this!"). I also found Reminiscing, which advises right on the box top that you'll have a better chance of winning by selecting older players for your team. I like that.

The web site, Your Amazing Brain offers lots of games to test your memory and boost your memory skills. I bookmarked the site so I wouldn't forget where I found it. I'm going to try some of these exercises and see if they do any good. I'll let you know. But if I don't mention it again over the next several weeks, somebody remind me, please!

Meanwhile, let me know what you call your "senior moments."

Dancing with the stars shows Boomers can still shake a leg

I've always wished I could dance. Unfortunately, I still have to remind myself when walking, "Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot."

Some people will argue that anyone can learn to dance and maybe they're right, which confirms my belief that I'm not just anyone. In fact, a few years ago I was at the National Speakers Association convention and on the last evening, I attended the dance event. I looked on with admiration at the  people who had the courage to get out on the floor and have fun while I self-consciously sat and resigned myself to be just an observer.

Along came a woman I didn't know who asked, "Want to dance?"

I laughed and said, "Oh honey, I would never embarrass myself or another person by doing that! I have absolutely no sense of rhythm."

She sat down and said, "I can teach you. Everyone can dance." To prove her point, she took my hand in hers and said, "OK, here's what I want you to do. Tap your hand against mine to the rhythm of the music, then let that rhythm just overtake your whole body."

I was skeptical, but since everybody else was dancing  and I had no plausible excuse not to honor her request, I started tapping.

She gave it a good five minutes, smiled sweetly and said, "You may be right. You really don't have much rhythm, do you?" She suddenly remembered something she needed to do and she escaped before I could give her a list of all the things I can do well.

Anyway, when "Dancing With The Stars" became a TV show, I resisted the urge to watch it, figuring it would only remind me of my own inadequacy. But last night, I gave into temptation. After all, Marie Osmond (age 47) , Wayne Newton (age 65) and Jane Seymour (age 56) were on  and my curiosity got the best of me.  (OK, I confess... I also had a terrible crush on Donny Osmond in the 70's and caught his Osmond's Odds on Entertainment Tonight in which he gave his sister high marks.)

Wow! I was impressed! Marie Osmond was very entertaining and incredibly sexy and Jane Seymour was as captivating on the dance floor as she is on the big screen. Wayne can't dance any better than one of Marie's plastic dolls, but I couldn't help but cheer him on anyway!

It was really fun to watch these Boomers (and one "Mature" adult) show the world what we Boomers already know: there's no age limit when it comes to having fun or learning/refining a new skill. The fact is, Boomers are rushing to gyms, yoga classes and dance classes in an effort to stay fit. We "get it" that getting fit doesn't have to be done in under the watchful eyes of a trainer or in front of a TV in the basement.

The lesson for marketers? Understand that Boomers aren't easing into old age. We consider ourselves vital, young-at-heart and ready for adventure. If you want our attention, find ways to connect with us at this level. Why not offer free dance lessons - or a pass to a gym - as an incentive to buy your product? Consider (if you sell food) what healthy choices you'll offer Boomers who buy from you. Support their causes, such as fund-raising walks.

Meanwhile, don't look for me on the dance floor, but do know that I'll be tapping my foot (off rhythm, probably) while cheering on my fellow Boomers!