Long overlooked, Gen X consumers will soon enter their “spending dominance” – deciding not only what they buy, but also heavily influencing what their parents and children buy – making them a demographic that food and beverage companies can no longer ignore.
Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X has long been lost in the shadows of the much larger Boomer and Millennial generations on either side of it, but new research from NielsenIQ suggests that brands can no longer afford to over look this group or lump them in with their older and younger cohorts given they are entering their “peak expenditure years,” during which they are predicted to spend a collective $15.2 trillion in 2025 and upwards of $23 trillion in 2035 globally.
In this episode of FoodNaviagor-USA’s Soup-To-Nuts podcast, Rachel Bonsignore, the VP of NIQ Consumer Life, explains how Gen X will set the standard for modern-day consumption, including what foods and beverages they are buying, what they are cutting out and where and how they shop. She also shares tips for engaging with Gen X to win their loyalty.
Who is Gen X and why do they matter now?
Falling between the ages of 45 and 60 years, Gen Xers are middle-aged adults who often take the middle path in life, which has caused media, marketers and others to overlook them in favor of the the drama and distinction offered by more extreme views.
But as Bonsignore explains, Gen Xers position in the middle is exactly why they deserve more attention.
“Gen X simply just doesn’t stand out when it comes to the data. Too often they are kind of on average, or not really diverging or leading that much on various emerging trends or attitudes or anything like that. So, people do tend to forget about them from a marketing and research perspective, because there’s just not anything that in the numbers you immediately notice,” she said.
“But, she added, “there’s a lot of reasons that we need to pay more attention.”
NIQ’s new report on Gen X’s spending power reveals how retailers and brands engage with the forgotten generation
Top takeaways include:
- Gen X loves a good drink, capturing 26% of the market and 1.8% of total spending.
- Gen X’s share of food and non-alcoholic beverages is 20%.
- Gen X spends more than other generations on seafood, fruit, soft drinks and coffee and tea.
- About half of Gen X report being extremely concerned about spending more at the checkout lane.
- Sharing how products are made and reviews heavily influence Gen Xer’s purchases.
- While Gen X consumers are non-digital natives, 60% are omni-channel shoppers.
Chief among the reasons why businesses should pay more attention to Gen X is that they sit at the middle of their family and economic lives.
“Right now in the US Gen X does have more consolidated wealth than in other generations. That’s really consistent across a lot of developed markets. They currently lead almost a third of all households. And you know, this spending power in particular is quite impressive, given that their wage growth has really slowed in recent years, and so they are able to hang on to a lot of that wealth and be able to put it into things,” she said.
She added: “The other thing that’s really important, and it’s not just Gen X in the US, it’s in a lot of other places too, that they are really influential for multiple generations and are caring for multiple generations.”
With this in mind, she recommends marketers understand the nuances of Gen X and consider what their households look like, how many dependents they have and where they stand in their career paths.
“Because of all these pressures that have and all the people that they are caring for, they are really going to be very smart and measured and not just distracted by the next new thing, like Millennials and Gen Z,” Bonsignore added.
What messaging works?
While it may sound like a stereotype, Gen X has not shed the cynical image and skepticism they cultivated as latchkey children who had to take care of themselves while their parents worked.
Bonsignore said this means they tend to eschew over-the-top marketing and products positioned as “extras” in favor of simple messages, convenience and reasonable prices.
“Simplicity is the most differentiating value for Gen X compared to all other generations,” she said. Likewise, “they also are really practical and value conscious and price concerned. They are not necessarily going to pay extra for an efficiency or for something like that. They don’t want it to be this complicated choice-maze. It just a baseline expectation for the brands and retailers that they engage with that things have to be easy and straightforward.”
They also are highly concerned about inflation related to food costs, and so they are looking for sales, deals and coupons. And the messaging that best resonates with them is clear commentary on value for price.
While Gen X consumers tend to be more frugal, they are willing to spend more on products that they perceive as higher quality, more durable or supporting their health goals.
Where do Gen Xers shop?
When it comes where or how Gen X shops and the extent to which they leverage technology to buy items, they once again fall in the middle.
They visit both brick-and-mortar stores and buy online, whichever is easiest. This means brands and retailers need to create a seamless and streamlined shopping experience across channels if they want to attract Gen Xers, said Bonsignore.
“They do engage in omnichannel shopping, but they are not leading in it,” she said, adding as such, “sometimes it is easier to reach them offline.”
Reviews and recommendations are another effective way to win over Gen X, she said.
Takeaways
The resounding takeaways from NIQ for marketers trying to reach Gen X – whether in stores or online and whether it is to drive trial or maintain loyalty – is to deliver simple basic messages and reduce friction whenever possible. But if you are interested in learning more about this group, and “why you cant afford to forget Gen X,” visit https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/report/2025/the-x-factor/.
