Everywhere it seems, marketers are targeting younger and younger customers.
Malls are full of ‘Tweener stores. Print media, like Time For Kids, flood grade school classrooms. On line, social networking sites like Club Penguin have huge followings. And multiple TV networks targeting youth like Sprout and Noggin are prevalent. Obviously marketers see opportunity in chasing this young demo. And it appears this target audience is only getting younger.
One place where customers are actually growing older is in financial institutions like banks and credit unions. And it’s not a good thing. For instance, just look at credit unions, where the average age of an account holder is 47!
It makes sense when you consider that the largest generation of our time, Boomers, who now range in age from 45 to 62, represent 78 million people. This group is well past their prime borrowing years of 25-44 and is moving full speed into retirement. So clearly, banks and credit unions face a challenge in trying to re-balance their customer profile in the near future. The 76 million dollar question is where should they be looking to find their next audience?
Start with middle schools and move up.
Generation Y, or Millennials, will be the next big market for financial institutions. This group’s age range is 14-31 and represents 76 million people. It will have a buying power like no other group before them, wielding $500+ billion in annual spending power, more than their Boomer parents had.
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