you've come a long way, boomers, and you're online now!

The 77.2 million people now between ages 44 and 62—known for decades now as the “baby boomers”—know they are aging, but they do not expect to get old. They plan to retire, but not on the same schedule as their parents and grandparents before them. Most expect to work until age 70, and the latest economic downtrend has reinforced their thinking.

Their motto used to be, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” Now they don’t trust anyone under 40, except maybe their own kids.

Boomers have never lacked for attitude, and now they make up the largest group of Internet users. At 56.7 million (US) strong they constitute nearly 30% of the online population.

As a result, where boomers go—and what they do—online matters. It matters a lot. But…

“Marketers targeting boomers online would be mistaken to treat them all alike,” says Lisa Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Boomers Online: Attitude Is Everything. “Older boomers, ages 54 to 62, use media more like the ‘matures’ who precede them, and younger boomers, ages 44 to 53, act more like Gen Xers online.”

About 74% of boomers use the Internet at least once a month.

However, their attitude toward the Internet is less a love affair and more a marriage of convenience. They go online to get things done, such as finding information on products and services, shopping, and staying in touch with friends and family.

“How boomers use the Internet today is indicative of how they will use it as they age into their 70s and 80s,” says Ms. Phillips.

Most authorities believe that boomers will remain online and engaged as long as their health and abilities permit, and recommend that technology providers begin preparing now to met their changing needs.

“Marketers who pigeonhole boomers as just aging seniors—and expect their Internet use to dwindle—will find their brands ignored and distrusted by this judgmental generation,” says Ms. Phillips.

be aggressive, it's the holidays!

This year more than ever, your customers are deal-seeking missiles, with a take-no-prisoners shopping mentality. One retail analyst recently described their grab-the-discount-and-go strategy as "hit and run." And retailers, including florists, are in hot pursuit, chasing every dollar with more aggressive marketing.

According to a recent survey, almost six in 10 retail florists say they will be more aggressive with holiday promotions this year. Of those florists, almost 20 percent plan to be "significantly" more aggressive than last year, according to the survey.

Faced with a condensed holiday season, 60 percent of florists say they'll kick off promotions earlier this year to make up for the week cut off by a late Thanksgiving.
Holidays are about traditions — and that's exactly how two-thirds of respondents plan to market their goods: as traditional holiday gifts. Flowers and plants will also be touted as the "perfect holiday present" by 58 percent. If that doesn't wrap up the sale, a little more than half will play to the cost-cutting crowd with discounts and special offers. More than a third (37 percent) will give those gift-wrap scissors something else to snip by offering discount coupons.

Other themes also try to loosen up those purse strings, while acknowledging the recessionary spending reality. Almost four in 10 will position flowers and plants as "affordable luxuries" and a third will hit the local angle of "helping local businesses." Others will stress the positive environmental, health and psychological effects of flowers and plants.

Florists' Marketing Muscle: 2008 vs. 2007

Source: Online survey of retail florists; based on 382 responses