Gen X's Target Market

People naturally like to generalise over a large group, it puts less stress on our brain. One such generalisation is the generations that people talk about, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millenials, and Gen Z. In “Move Over, Millennials, Here Comes Generation Z” Alex Williams discusses a possible outcome of what Gen Z is to be as compared to the Millennials.

Many people in the "baby boomer" generation are staying active as they age. By either jogging, swimming or becoming part of a sports team. They strive to remain youthful and mentally young and view retirement as an active period of their life. Theirinterest in health , fitness, looking young and attractive and longevity is quite phenomenal. They can expect to live longer due to medical advances however stress and burnout could impact on this expectation of longevity. They are well educated, thirsty for information interested in travel and will want to stay involved in the political processes. In addition they are optimistic, forward thinking and undoubtedly redefine old age. As the oldest of the nation's 75 million baby boomers approach the age of 60, a Pew Research Center survey finds many are looking ahead to their own retirement while balancing a full plate of family responsibilities either raising children or providing financial and other

Shopping: Shopping for the Generation X started with the trip to the mall. If your local department store didn't have "the cool stuff", you'd have to take a trip to the mall where there are more options for the Gen X'er. Later the rise of E-commerce came into play, so now Generation X members are seasoned enough to know where to physically find the goods they need, but also know where to find a good deal on-line.

In today’s society, the work industry is comprised of numerous generations from baby boomers to millennia’s. Due to reasons ranging from increased cost of living to political policies, Americans are being forced to work longer in order to obtain the social security benefits they’ve contributed to during their careers. Each generation has certain generational influences such as war times and civil rights for the baby boomers and social media and the technology boom for the millennia’s. One constant that has not changed, however, is that the average American has to work for a living, and with the evolution of the US economy, they are having to work longer and are retiring later.

Today, the certainty of receiving sufficient benefits solely from Social Security for a quality standard of living after retirement is indefinite. Baby boomers—individuals born post World War II between 1946 and 1964—are beginning to claim their benefits, and given what I have learned in class, the number of individuals entering the workforce is inadequate to sustain such a large population, thus such generation will consume

Generation Xers are often referred to as the Baby Bust generation. They were born 1965- 1976, now many Gen Xers find themselves having large amounts of responsibility. Having to take care of the now retiring Baby Boomer generation and the still young Millennia Generation. At this point they have all reached middle age and most are at the height of their professional careers. Gen Xers are the least represented generation, they are often looked over in regards to marketing and statistics. They are the demographic bridge between the more conservative Baby Boomers

When the economy crashed in 2007 the youth was hit the hardest. The unemployment rate for people aged 25-32 was over 8 percent in 2013 (Machado “How Millennials…”). Instead of working dead-end seasonal jobs, Millennials would rather use this opportunity to do something they may have never had the opportunity to do otherwise. Also, growing up seeing their parents 401k’s wiped clean and hearing talk of failing social security program has caused Millennials to distrust their retirement options. In fact, only 6 percent of Millennials believe they will obtain the same benefits as their parents, and half believe that there will be no more money in social security by the time they graduate (Machado “How Millennials…”).

However boomers and “non” boomers alike will face social changes as this group matures into their late adulthood. Many boomers prepared for their retirement by working hard and saving money. Boomers such as my own parents are good examples of how boomers will be affected. They did not over extend themselves during the recession and they made wise financial decisions. They invested what was perceived as healthy investments in real-estate and the stock market only to take on major economic losses in the last decade. Although my parents are not struggling to make ends meet, the rising cost of insurance and health care may have negative effects on their finances in the next decade.

According to a USA Today article from last year, nearly sixty percent of Americans have more than $25,000 put away for retirement. Thirty-six percent of Americans have less than $1000 saved for later in life. This means that as more people, especially the baby boomer generation, retire, there will be more strain on program such as Social Security and Medicare, and ultimately the federal budget that is responsible for these programs. If steps are taken now to close this gap, we will insure the continued longevity of these programs by raising the tax contributions flowing into both Social Security and Medicare.

Currently, there are five main generations. Traditionalists are the oldest generation, being born between 1900 and 1945. They only constitute 5% of the current workforce, as most have retired (Wiedmer 2015, 51). The baby boomers are the oldest and largest generation currently in the workforce (Wong et al. 2008, 878). This generation was born following World War II between 1945 and 1964, with approximately 76 million individuals (Wiedmer 2015, 52). Generation X was born from 1965 to 1981 and is also known as the baby busters because their birth rates are vastly lower than the baby boomers (Wiedmer 2015, 53). Generation Y, or the millennials, was born between 1982 and 1995 and grew up in a very different time compared to their predecessors, with

Generation Xers see themselves as a generation with its own voice and vision. They are said to be savvy consumers with an annual spending power of 125 billion dollars. Most of which they spend on electronics and computer products. However they have economic problems: the starting wages of entry level jobs are declining, housing cost are so high that 46% are still living with mom or dad. But despite their financial pressures, they are as likely as baby boomers to think about long term savings and retirement plan.

The third generation represented is often referred to as “Generation X.” Members of this group are born between 1965 and 1979. Kyles (2005) defines them as individualistic, disloyal, techno literate, and one of the most challenging groups to manage. This can be attributed to the fact that this group grew up in the rebellious years of the sixties and seventies. Marshall (2004) states, “The employer has to provide an opportunity to work and grow, or they are going to leave” (p. 18). This says a lot about the influence of culture on this generation.

Each generation has certain characteristics and values with which the members of it can identify. Members of Generation X highly value their job and family time; so they try to find a balance between these two aspects of their lives. Generation X are hardworking people, but they are

Gen Xers must learn how to take care of themselves. We must push aside our stereotypical lack of concern and use our coping skills we earned growing up to positively effect change.

“Generation X” (“Gen-Xers”), born from about 1960 – 1980, maintained some attributes typical of the “Baby Boomer” generation, but feel that their upbringing was too strict. They added an emphasis on work/life