A new book by a world-renowned demographer makes sense of generations’ impact — and shows why counting people counts.
Why should marketers, manufacturers, retailers, economists, politicians, human resource executives, real estate developers, funeral directors, insurance agents, educators, students, midlife career changers, small business owners, big business leaders, and investors across the U.S. care about demographics? Though widely underappreciated, the science and art of demography has a significant impact on communities, industries, professions, individual career paths, and about 320 million lives (the U.S. population).
In UPSIDE: Profiting from the Profound Demographic Shifts Ahead (AMACOM; April, 2017), demographer Kenneth W. Gronbach makes clear that counting people counts. Backed by hard numbers, he shares his expert’s edge on seizing on the upsides of growing population shifts, which he refers to as tsunamis, and avoiding the downsides of population declines, or sinkholes. “While tsunamis definitely provide more potential upside opportunity,” he notes, “sinkholes can provide upside opportunities as well.” With UPSIDE as an inside guide, wide-ranging readers will come to appreciate demography’s incredible power — and learn how to discover the potential upsides in demographic tsunamis and sinkholes before they strike.
Starting with the demand side of demographic-influenced business matters, UPSIDE offers snapshots of the six generations living in the U.S., from the surviving 2.3 million G.I.s (1905-24), the Silents (1925-44), to the emerging, most ethnically and culturally diverse generation, Z (2005-24), currently at 40.9 million. For the near future, matters of supply remain dominated by the consumption, work, and lifestyle habits of the three generations in the middle:
- Baby Boomers (1945-64). At 78 million strong, still a transformative force
- Generation X (1965-84). 82.9 million (including immigrant Latinos) unfairly maligned members
- Generation Y (1985-2004) At 86.6 million, millennials’ ranks surpass that of the Boomers
Sorting through raw figures and synthesizing statistical data related to generations and regions, UPSIDE reveals surprising facts and promising trends to guide business decisions, career directions, and more. Among its insights:
- Why the South is hot, and rising economically. For young professionals, no state is finer than North Carolina. Its population has nearly doubled since 1990, with a median age steadily declining to about 36.
- Why the “graying of America” (first heralded back in the 1990s) is finally arriving, due to the inevitable aging of the Baby Boomers — and why “big box” death care is poised to explode.
- What could happen when retiring Boomers free up jobs — and why the immigrant population is vital to keeping the economy thriving, particularly in industries with a growing customer base of senior citizens, such as health care.
- Why, thanks to Generation Y, a housing market once plagued by foreclosures is now improving — with signs of a supply shortage on the horizon, yet the automobile industry is truly in trouble, long-term.
- Which retail and service sectors are likely to boom in the coming decades, driven by the needs and wants of each generation, and whether or not manufacturing is actually making a comeback.
There’s much more inside UPSIDE — including an overview of the new labor force dynamics, a fascinating glimpse of demographics in the rest of the world, and a spotlight on dozens of companies worth exploring as investment options.
About the Authors
Kenneth W. Gronbach brings a background in marketing to his work as a demographic researcher and sought-after speaker on societal and business trends. He is president of KGC Direct and the author of The Age Curve (AMACOM, 2008). A Baby Boomer with two Gen Y daughters, he lives in Haddam, Connecticut, with his wife.
M.J. Moye is an editorial consultant and demographic researcher
based in Nova Scotia.
