How To Target Generation X Online
By Anna Johnson on November 13th, 2008I’m not a huge fan of targeting prospects based on their “generation”. Call me old fashioned, but I would have thought that there are a range of better ways to target people than how old they are.
Really, you don’t want me to get started on the marketing to people based on whether they’re Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y or some other broadbrush generalization about people based on their age.
But apparently some people do study these things, and for what it’s worth Charles Schwab has studied the online buying behvavior of Generation X (which it defines as people born between 1965 and 1981).
As reported by eMarketer, Charles Schwab’s survey of 2,000 Gen Xers reveals that they are well educated (28 percent have bachelor’s degrees or higher), debt-ridden (45 percent of respondents said they had too much debt to think about saving, with most being concerned about credit card debt, car loans and mortgages) and skeptical.
eMarketer’s conclusion is that Gen Xers seek value for money, and aren’t afraid to shop at discount or diverse stores to get it.
Source: eMarketer, “The Gen X Online Shopper”, eMarketer, November 10, 2008
