baby boomer

Person born during the period following the end of World War II that saw a major increase in births. This major boom in births spanned from the end of the war to the early 1960s and is known as the post-war bulge in population. The huge numbers of baby boomers (their generation peaked at 79 million in the USA in 2000) has caused marketers to target them from the beginning. In the 1940s and 1950s it was baby equipment and toys; in the 1950s and 1960s cars and records were being marketed to the boomers; and in the 1980s it was technology. The baby boomers are still driving consumer trends although, as their influence wanes (the last boomer is predicted to survive until about 2070), they will no doubt be superseded by those from Generation X.