Baby boomers looking for luxury with cosmetics in demand

Luxury cosmetics are behind only a luxury holiday and premium wines as luxury products or services that US baby boomers are targeting. 

According to a new report by Marketing Charts, over half of ‘upscale’ US Baby Boomers - defined as people with a personal net worth of over $1m or who live in households with at least $250k annual income - plan to buy one or more luxury products or services over the next 12 months.

These ‘upscale’ baby boomers represent approximately 9 million of the total US population, and account for about 12% of all 75m Baby Boomers in the country, and cosmetics are on their radar.

The report reveals that 18% of them intend to purchase premium cosmetics over the next year, compared to 8% of all US adults.

‘Valuable and affluent’

The only two products charting higher are luxury holidays and premium wines, which account for 30% and 27% respectively.

According to the Shullman Research Center, in its new report, upscale marketers shouldn’t ignore Baby Boomers, as this large segment of the population is “even more valuable and affluent” than the much coveted Generation Y.

“Compared to their share of the adult population, Baby Boomers command an above-average share of total net worth and total income dollars. What’s more, ‘Upscale’ Baby Boomers are looking to spend on luxury products,” says the research.

The Shullman Research Center report indicates that over half of these Upscale Boomers are planning to buy one or more luxuries in the next year (compared to 34% of adults overall).

The new data opens up a big opportunity to cosmetics makers to target this affluent population in the US as Upscale Boomers by themselves control almost one-quarter of total estimated net worth, more than the entire Gen Y market (21%); and Baby Boomers overall control 39% share of total discretionary spending in the US.