Gen X amid the Pandemic

How Their Finances, Shopping Behavior, and Digital Usage Look

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About This Report
Gen Xers have taken a hit from the pandemic. But in midcareer and with bigger-than-average households, they remain too important a cohort for marketers to ignore. Thus, it’s essential see how their finances, shopping behavior, and digital usage shape up amid the pandemic.

Executive Summary

Many Gen Xers were in shaky financial shape before the pandemic arrived and have suffered during it. But with above-average incomes and bigger-than-average households—and at a life stage that necessitates lots of spending—Xers remain a cohort marketers cannot afford to ignore.

Pandemic aside, have Xers in the US been in decent financial shape?

Their household incomes—averaging $106,173 pretax in 2019, according to the latest available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—have been well above the US average. But their share of total household wealth is barely half of that held by baby boomers. Many have yet to recover from the Great Recession.

Have they been hit hard financially by the pandemic?

Very hard. One survey by Bankrate showed more than half of Xers in the US had lost at least some household income as of November. US Census Bureau data from December showed nearly 13 million finding it “very difficult” to pay bills. Many have raided their retirement accounts to cover current expenses.

Has the pandemic reshaped Xers’ spending?

It has reduced what in recent years has been an outsize level of household spending—an average of $76,788 in 2019, versus $63,036 for total households, according to the BLS. About half of Xers in a May survey by Jungle Scout reported cutting outlays during the pandemic. The financial squeeze has increased the urgency of deal seeking. Xers’ shopping has swung more toward digital, including in grocery shopping.

Are Xers heavy users of digital media and devices?

Yes, but not indiscriminate users. Most are sticking with Facebook while being less likely to try newer options. They mostly have smartphones but haven’t been keen on smart speakers and wearables. About eight in 10 Xers in the US will view digital video this year, but they’ll still watch tons of traditional TV, according to our estimates.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report assesses US Gen Xers’ finances and how they’ve been affected by the pandemic. It looks at their shopping behavior and how it has shifted in a time of social distancing. And it examines the media usage of a cohort that’s digitally conversant but not digitally native.

KEY STAT: The financial travails of 2020 did not exactly imbue Xers with confidence about how they’ll fare in 2021, with 42% of those in the US expecting to be in “survival mode,” according to October research by Fidelity Investments.

Here’s what’s in the full report

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26charts

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6expert perspectives

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    Table of Contents

    1. Executive Summary
    2. Down but Not Out
    3. The Ups and Downs of Xer Finances
    4. Retirement Beckons and Threatens
    1. Xers as Shoppers
    2. A Digital Cohort (Mostly)
    3. Key Takeaways
    4. Insider Intelligence Interviews
    1. Read Next
    2. Sources
    3. Media Gallery

    Charts in This Report

    Interviewed for This Report

    Tyson Cornell
    PwC
    US Consumer Markets Leader
    Interviewed January 15, 2021
    Bruce Leichtman
    Leichtman Research Group
    President and Principal Analyst
    Interviewed January 12, 2021
    Jim Miller
    J.D. Power
    Vice President, Banking and Payments Intelligence
    Interviewed January 12, 2021
    Sarah O’Grady
    Valassis
    Senior Director, Brand Marketing
    Interviewed January 15, 2021
    Kristi Rodriguez
    Nationwide Financial
    Senior Vice President, Nationwide Retirement Institute
    Interviewed January 12, 2021
    Lauren Xandra
    National Research Group
    Vice President, Marketing and Growth
    Interviewed January 14, 2021

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    authors

    Mark Dolliver

    Contributors

    Ross Benes
    Senior Analyst
    Lucy Koch
    Junior Analyst
    Peter Newman
    Senior Forecasting Analyst
    Oscar Orozco
    Director, Forecasting
    Jennifer Pearson
    VP, Research
    Nicole Perrin
    Principal Analyst
    Peter Vahle
    Forecasting Analyst
    Debra Aho Williamson
    Principal Analyst
    Vincent Yip
    Forecasting Analyst

    "Behind the Numbers" Podcast