50+ Lifestyles

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

By Dan Adams

Here we go again, another fantastic July in the Quad- Cities. Many things are happening, and for a great local list, check out our calendar page at 50pluslife.com. This July is something special for me, a certain someone I know turns 50 and can finally pick up our magazine as a “legit” 50+ Lifestyle reader! So in preparation, I’ve been searching for facts about 50 Plus and came up with quite a list. I thought I would share some of my findings with you:

• 77 million people were born between 1946 and 1964, which is defined as the baby boomer era (U.S. Census).
• Today an American turns 50 every 7 seconds—that’s more than 12,500 people every day (U.S. Census).
• The 55 Plus age group controls more than three-fourths of America’s wealth (ICSC).
• The 50 Plus have $2.4 trillion in annual income, which accounts for 42 percent of all after-tax income (U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey).
• Americans over 55 spend 50 percent of all vacation dollars in America (ICSC).
• Women over 50 spend $21 Billion on clothes annually (U.S. Government Consumer Expenditure Survey).
• One-third of the 195.3 million internet users in the U.S., adults aged 50 percent represent the Web’s largest
constituency (Jupiter Research).
• 36 percent of adults 50 Plus own a smartphone (Pew).
• 44 percent of smartphone owners age 50+ access the Internet or check email daily from their device (Pew).
• Adults 50 Plus spend an average of $7 billion online annually (SeniorNet).
• 42 percent of all travel industry purchases happen online, and adults 50 Plus account for 80 percent of all luxury
travel spending (Pew Internet and American Life Project).
• They take great pride in the appearance of their homes as 27 percent have had landscaping done in the past year and they are 21 percent more likely than all American adults to have spent $10,000 or more on home improvement in the past year (Scarborough).
• 82 percent of adults aged 50 Plus, who use the Internet, research health and wellness information online
(Pew Internet and American Life Project).
• The 50 Plus audience is the largest demographic in our history, and will be for the next 50 years.
• 37 percent of the millions of 50 Plus Internet users are into social networking; Facebook is the preferred network by over 30 percent.

The great news is that 50 Plus sure looks like a lot of fun. We are the largest age group, and we will vacation like no other group in the past. We will buy lots of clothes, update our homes and still have time to hang out on our favorite social media websites (most likely on our smartphone or tablet!)

So, lift your glass and cheer on those of us who are 50 Plus and those who are soon to be (shhhhh, just don’t tell Kirsten I told you).