Are Echo Boomers Overspending On Food?

The Millennial generation doesn't manage money all that well, or even make that much money, when you look at income characteristics of Echo Boomers, but a new study shows that Echo Boomers love to spend large amounts of money on food and beverages:

Millennials made more than 13 billion visits to restaurants in 2010 and spent more than $73 billion on food and beverages, according to a new market report from The NPD Group, which reveals the diverse generation has varied values, tastes and preferences, and foodservice operators need to offer greater menu variety to attract customers.

and:

According to the “Reaching the Millennial Generation" report, the 52 million Millennials, ages 18 to 29, spend a higher percent of their total foodservice dollars than other generations.

In other words, approximately 65% of Echo Boomers spend more money on food service than other American generations.

Business and Economic Opportunity

If you are considering businesses to start for the Millennial generation, a restaurant is not a bad idea. But pay attention to your demographic, for instance single Echo Boomers, male Echo Boomers and female Echo Boomers. Find out who you want to target and try to create an environment that attracts your target.

A Sign of Poor Financial Skill?

I question the financial sagacity of anyone who spends large amounts of money in restaurants. Even if we assume that only the wealthy Echo Boomers are spending this money (untrue as 65% of Echo Boomers are doing so), I'd still question if going out all the time was a wise choice. Nonetheless, the financial data show 90% of Echo Boomers have less than $2,000 in wealth; more Echo Boomers would have more wealth if they learned to cook their own meals.

If Echo Boomers need other ways to save money, they should read what some other Echo Boomers are doing to save.