Yes, we know. Those born between the end of World War II and the mid 1960s are yesterday’s news to marketers. But they shouldn’t be. They generally have lots of money, and they are America’s second largest generation. And why the Gen-Z crowd may be playing with Mocktails, Baby Boomers still drink.
What do that drink? Lighter profile drinks — vodka, white wine and light lager, according to Drizly. This year they’ve upped their purchases of liquor (47% in 1922 vs. 44% last year), and trimmed their purchases of both wine (40% vs. 42%) and beer (11% vs. 12%). “Extras” remained steady at 2%.
A 2021 Wine Market Council survey found that, compared to other generations, U.S. consumers aged 60 and older have some of the highest wine consumption rates. Nineteen percent of those in the 60 to 69 age range and 22 percent of those over 70 identified themselves as daily wine drinkers.
Though boomers account for a smaller share of total sales on Drizly at 11 percent, these consumers out-spend younger generations in some categories, such as white wine and non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits. Boomers also spend more per order on the platform.
“One of the trends we have seen with this age group,” says Liz Paquette, the head of consumer insights at Drizly, “is that they typically spend less per product, but more per order, than other generations.”
And yes, they like no- and low-alcohol beer, wine and spirits. Boomers’ share of sales is 0.25% compared to 0.23% for other generations.