Overlooked

Knock on wood … following the dramas of the weekend, there has been no news of note in my world this week, or should that be whirld?

I’m slightly off-centre from spending Monday at DD’s place due to a car service. I sat at the computer last night thinking, hang on, what day is it?

I also wrote 50 million Drinks Digest stories to make up for taking the weekend off. I have set myself the target of at least one Drinks Digest newsletter a week and those slots don’t fill themselves.

My top story of the week is “The demographic that’s spending more on alcohol”.

Can you guess which one it is?

Yup, Gen X.

Actually, they’re spending more on everything, not just booze.

According to Nielsen IQ, Gen Xers function as “caretaker consumers” because they’re simultaneously caring for aging parents and supporting dependent children. Given these competing obligations, Gen Xers prioritize convenience, demand value and reward brands that help them manage it all.

And, it would seem, also rewarding themselves with booze that helps them manage it all.

Alcohol is one of the top three areas they are expected to increase their spending, alongside food and non-alcoholic beverages and beauty.

Despite being smaller in size than Millennials or Gen Z, Gen X will form the world’s second-largest consumer market—second only to the US and roughly twice the size of China’s total spending—in 2025.

Marta Cyhan-Bowles, Chief Communications Officer & Head of Global Marketing COE at NIQ said: “The data is clear—Gen X’s influence is profound and far too frequently overlooked by brands. This cohort will continue to shape the future of the global consumer economy for years to come.”

Gen X’s influence is profound and far too frequently overlooked by brands …

Oh, and Gen X women control 50% of global consumer spend, influencing 70–80% of household purchasing decisions.

Ignore us at your peril!

Actually, we are being ignored at their peril.

According to The Australian: “Women aged over 50 account for nearly one-fifth of the population and, unlike the generations before them, are focused on rewarding themselves and looking fabulous as they do it. Yet, if marketing and advertising images are anything to go by, women over 50 are only visible when discussing retirement plans and incontinence products.”

Maybe that’s because women over 50 working in advertising are as rare as unicorn tears.

The industry is filled with young things who just don’t get us. The older cohort have been shuffled out.

For me, ageism has been far more confronting than sexism ever was.

I’d have zero chance at age 57 of getting a job in the media. Couldn’t get one at 47 either.

It took a unicorn boss – much younger than me, surprisingly – to understand my worth and get me on board.

And now I’m running digital comms and plotting how to publish an award-winning annual report, in a department filled with women over 50. Rare.

As for the consumer power of Gen X women – how sad is it that our bank accounts are what has finally made us visible to market researchers?

And yet we’re still being overlooked by brands … and bartenders.

Song of the day: Oasis “Champagne supernova”