Gen-Xers trending up in luxury purchases

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 4/26/2006 12:14:00 PM

Stevens, Pa. -- In 2005, luxury consumers of the Generation X generation, born from 1965 to 1976, spent 6.3 percent more buying luxuries than their affluent Baby Boomer counterparts – especially for home.

"While Boomers still spend lots of money on luxuries, luxury goods marketers are going to find the younger Gen-Xer affluent consumers a more important part of their target market in the coming years," said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Let Them Eat

Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses — as well as the Classes.

Gen-Xer households averaged $52,781 as compared with Boomers’ average of $49,672. The biggest spending gap was in the home luxury goods category, where Gen-Xers spent 28% more than Boomers on average.

"As Baby Boomers downscale their lives, Gen-Xers are at a more materialistic life stage," said Danziger, noting that marketers of home luxuries "need to become attuned to the emerging desires and shopping habits of this younger luxury generation." Unity Marketing is currently conducting a study into the emerging Gen-Xer luxury market.