Editing Market segmentation (section)

==== Generational segments ====

A generation is defined as "a cohort of people born within a similar period (15 years at the upper end) who share a comparable age and life stage and who were shaped by a particular period (events, trends, and developments)."<ref>McCrindle, M., ''Generations Defined'' [Booklet] n.d. circa 2010 Online: http://mccrindle.com.au/BlogRetrieve.aspx?PostID=146968&A=SearchResult&SearchID=9599835&ObjectID=146968&ObjectType=55</ref> Generational segmentation refers to the process of dividing and analyzing a population into cohorts based on their birth date. Generational segmentation assumes that people's values and attitudes are shaped by the key events that occurred during their lives and that these attitudes translate into product and brand preferences.

Demographers, studying population change, disagree about precise dates for each generation.<ref>Cran, C., ''The Art of Change Leadership: Driving Transformation In a Fast-Paced World,'' Wiley, Hoboken, N.J. 2016, pp. 174–75</ref> Dating is normally achieved by identifying population peaks or troughs, which can occur at different times in each country. For example, in Australia the post-war population boom peaked in 1960,<ref>Salt, B., '' The Big Shift'', South Yarra, Vic.: Hardie Grant Books, 2004 {{ISBN|978-1-74066-188-1}}</ref> while the peak occurred somewhat later in the US and Europe,<ref>U.S. Census Bureau, ''American Fact Finder: Age Groups and Sex'', 2010</ref> with most estimates converging on 1964. Accordingly, Australian Boomers are normally defined as those born between 1945 and 1960; while American and European Boomers are normally defined as those born between 1946 and 1964. Thus, the generational segments and their dates discussed here must be taken as approximations only.

The primary generational segments identified by marketers are:<ref>McCrindle Research, ''Seriously Cool – Marketing & Communicating with Diverse Generations'', Norwest Business Park, Australia, n.d. c. 2010</ref>

* Builders: born 1920 to 1945
* [[Baby boomers]]: born about 1946–1964
* [[Generation X]]: born about 1965–1980
* Generation Y, also known as [[Millennials]]; born about 1981–1996
* [[Generation Z]], also known as Zoomers; born 1997–2012

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Unique characteristics of selected generations<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Paul |last2=Gao |first2=George |title=Generation X: America's neglected 'middle child' |url= http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/05/generation-x-americas-neglected-middle-child/ |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=24 July 2018 |date=5 June 2014}}</ref>
|-
! Colspan="2" | Millennials
! colspan="2" | Generation X
! colspan="2" | Baby Boomers
|-
| Technology use || 24%
| Technology use || 12%
| Work ethic || 17%
|-
| Music/ popular culture || 11%
| Work ethic || 11%
| Respectful || 14%
|-
| Liberal/ tolerant || 7%
| Conservative/ traditional || 7%
| Values/ morals || 8%
|-
| Smarter || 6%
| Smarter || 6%
| Smarter || 5%
|-
| Clothes || 5%
| Respectful || 5%
| {{N/A}} || {{sdash}}
|}