The conventional wisdom about the “older” age groups, is that their brand preferences are more or less set in stone and there is less urgency about influencing them, than about going after the younger age groups whose choices are still in flux.

This accounts for the big disparity in the allocation of marketing dollars: a bigger percentage is spent against younger age groups, even though they account for demonstrably less purchasing.

But is the conventional necessarily wisdom true?

To address the question, we went into the Vividata 2017 Q2 survey, and looked at the numbers of people who agreed with certain statements about brands and shopping. We wanted to know:

• Do Zoomers (45+) really stick with favored brands more than younger generations do?
• Even if most Zoomers do stick with favored brands, is the number who don’t a big number? A market worth going after in its own right?
• How do Zoomers shop? Are they open to new information before they buy? How does this compare with younger generations?
• If Zoomers do go after more information, where do they look? How does this compare with younger generations?

The results wipe out the conventional wisdom.

“Once I find a brand I like, I tend to stick to it”

• 73% of Zoomers agree. That’s 11.8 million people. It seems to fit the stereotype of the “older” consumer: brand choices locked in, so why bother chasing them? But not so fast. 
• 70% of GenX’ers and 68% of Millennials feel the same way. Zoomers are no more brand loyal than the younger age groups. What’s more…
• Although only 27% of Zoomers don’t agree with the statement, in raw numbers this adds up to almost 5 million people. This is a market too big to ignore.

There’s also the shopping process itself. How do they get to “a brand I like” in the first place? Do they shop around? Do they look for more information?

“I check a number of sources before making a significant purchase”

• 64% of Zoomers — or 10.4 million people — agree with this statement
• That compares with 66% of GenX, or 5.5 million people, and 61% of Millennials, or 6.2 million people
• So Zoomers are every bit as likely as the younger age groups to shop and compare

And where do they shop and compare?

“I often refer to the internet before making a purchase”

• 57% of Zoomers agree – that’s 9.3 million people
• This compares with 65% of GenX’ers, or 5.4 million people and 65% of Millennials, or 6 million people
• The younger age groups have a slightly higher percentage but there are more Zoomers checking online than either of those younger groups. In fact, the Zoomer total — 9.3 million — is equivalent to 90% of the combined total of Gen X and Millennials.

The Zoomers are hardly sitting back passively, with their brand choices set in stone. They’re active seekers of information, and they’re every bit as ready and able as the younger generations, to go out and find it. Given their massive spending power — which nobody seriously questions — it’s clear that marketers are making a big mistake by not allocating a higher percentage of their dollars toward Zoomers.