How many times have we heard about the four generations that catalyze almost 90% of Italians' consumption? And how many times have we heard our parents exclaim "These are not the times of the past!"?
Different characteristics, different aspirations and even different ways of thinking , as we can imagine, distinguish the various generations, so that it is sometimes impossible to try to understand our parents, and it is not easy for them to try to understand their children.
Being born in different historical contexts influences the way of thinking and this directly affects behavior: different interests, different research, both in the commercial and social fields.
Brief overview of generations
Generation Z
They are those born between 1995 and 2020, they represent 15% of Italians and are also called digital innates , therefore they cannot do without technology.
For this generation, in fact, technology is a natural language from a very young age.
Millennials
They represent about 17% of the Italian population and are people born between 1980 and 1994; they are also called digital natives , who grew up together with digitalization and technological acceleration. They communicate through instant and vocal messages, they follow stories on Instagram.
The key word is sharing.
Generation X
Individuals born between 1965 and 1979 represent 24% of the Italian population and are the first Digital adopters , that is, those who were born in an analog world and have embraced technological and digital transformation from the very beginning.
They are autonomous, independent and moderately inclined towards innovation.
Baby Boomers
Finally we have the Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964 who represent more than 24% of the Italian population: analog natives who had to get used to new technologies as adults.
Baby boomers, or more simply Boomers , are the most economically stable generation, which makes them on average more optimistic and allows them to live life more carefree, playing sports, traveling with friends and paying increasing attention to nutrition.
However, there are those who, precisely in consideration of a time span as vast as this one, propose a further distinction within the same generation of Baby Boomers , namely:
Those born before 1955, already adults during the Vietnam War
Those born between 1995 and 1964, also known as late boomers.
It is easy to understand how this distinction does not have a simple classificatory purpose, indeed, life experiences and reference values of baby boomers born now and baby boomers born a few years later can be completely different.
It is inevitable to think that it is the generation most marked by history , having experienced first-hand the highest and most significant number of events with a significant impact on society, the economy, and politics: to name a few, the Cold War, the assassination of JF Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and many others.
However, the diversity of events by geographical area leads to the definition of a multiplicity of diversity factors that characterise this age group:
About 75% of them are on Facebook, posting that is sometimes mocked by young people.
Their first social experiences were in fact on Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp and Instagram.
Baby Boomers are 30% more likely than other generations to discover brands through television advertising .
Furthermore, compared to younger generations, they have a marked preference for eco-sustainable, socially responsible brands that support local activities.
In fact, 56% of baby boomers are more likely to spend more on eco-friendly products and also pay a lot of attention to customer service, as well as brand authenticity.
Less difficult, however, is to evaluate the impact that Baby Boomers still have on social life. Just think of one fact:
In most Western countries, they represent the largest demographic group (76 million Americans, for example, were born between the second half of the 1940s and the second half of the 1960s).
But there's more: in the United Kingdom, for example – but the data also works if extended to the rest of the Western world – it is precisely the Boomers who hold 80% of the national wealth .
More generally, the expression has come to refer to a generation of privileged people who, more than their descendants, have been able to enjoy a condition of economic and social well-being , public welfare policies and a generalised consumer confidence.
Historical contingencies, after all, are undeniable and the Baby Boomers already bear in their name the sign of a sudden birth boom, a sudden demographic surge following the end of the Second World War which could not fail to be linked to a period of greater economic and social prosperity.
Baby boomers tend to be loyal to brands , as they grew up in the era of consumerism, they love to buy and have great purchasing power. Furthermore, as avid consumers, they love luxury, as a just reward for their work, which for them represents their life.
They are people who are strongly oriented towards work and career, ambitious and at the same time concrete, they still prefer “face to face” relationships and are independent also by virtue of greater economic and educational possibilities compared to the previous generation.
Comments