As one of over 100 million baby boomers,Marvin Weinberger, CEO/Founder, AmericanCertified.com in Philadelphia, PA is part of the largest age demographic in the US. Today’s boomers represent 45% of the US population and hold two thirds of the nation’s wealth. That means baby boomers have the power to dramatically influence entire markets in the greatest nation in the world. Marvin founded AmericanCertified.com to make it easier for baby boomers to shop their values and make a difference. Senior Outlook Today recently chatted with Marvin to discuss the boomer market as well as AmericanCertified.com.
SOT: What made you decide that baby boomers would respond well to an ecommerce store?
Marvin: 66% of us shop online and are active internet users. Guess who is the the fastest-growing Facebook demographic? That’s right… 55+ year old women. We actually spend more time shopping online than the 16-34 age group! What I discovered, however, is that only 20% of us feel websites are made for us. What’s more, we’ve found it consistently difficult to find quality, American-made products. So we either miss out, or settle for foreign goods. I set out to change that by building AmericanCertified.com. We spent $500,000 to build a superstore with over 1.5 million American products. The next largest store only has a few thousand products. That makes 2014 the first time in history that we can easily find and buy American with every purchase.
SOT: Do baby boomers really care about buying American?
Marvin: Absolutely – and it’s not just my instinct. A wide variety of research agencies show that baby boomers are the most motivated demographic when it comes to buying American. Look up studies by Pew, the US Government, Jupiter Research, and Nielsen – not to mention studies I’ve commissioned myself. The current elections are a sad reminder of how blase some of the younger generations have become – in fact, most millenials don’t even bother to vote. That’s why it’s up to us to lead the way and set an example in how we spend our time and money.
We’re doing a good job living up to that expectation. We already take the lead when it comes to concern for supporting US jobs and the national economy, eco-friendly purchasing, and patriotism. We understand that we are responsible for creating a prosperous and productive America that we can leave to future generations to nurture. As a result of our leadership in socially conscious spending, Baby Boomers consider Made in USA more important when buying a product than any other age group.
SOT: What makes American Certified stand out?
Marvin: AmericanCertified.com allows you to discover and shop for millions of American-made items with the ease, prices and security of the world’s most secure website through our associate relationship with Amazon.com. AmericanCertified.com carries everything from clothing, food, electronics, children’s products, furniture, cookware, and more – all made in some part in the USA. In fact, we label every product to indicate exactly how much of it is Made in America, and have an easy registration process for makers to provide details on their specific products. We are also working on integrating in a wide variety of third party certification labels to further enhance the experience.
With a website that understands the needs of Baby Boomers, AmericanCertified.com makes shopping American easier, faster and more affordable without sacrificing selection. We help consumers know where their products come from and where their money is going. In a world where American values are constantly at risk, we’re taking a stand for a stronger nation.
Marvin Weinberger walked away from a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars because the buyer wanted to offshore the product manufacturing for his company. He later founded American Certified to support US jobs and makers. His message: Values matter, and it’s up to each of us to set the example for generations to come.
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