It's a practice that predates the current economic downturn. But the recession has given fresh impetus to the "boomerang" phenomenon, in which young adults who'd lived on their own find themselves (typically for financial reasons) returning to the parental home. While there's a tendency to regard such people as slackers -- and to assume they must be moping morosely around a home they thought they'd left for good -- a study by Luminosity Marketing finds the reality is quite different.

The sheer number and personal buying power of boomerangers make them a significant target market, as does the influence they wield on purchase decisions for the household they once again inhabit. For this study, Luminosity focused on boomerangers who are college graduates, unmarried, age 22-29 and working full time. Though precise numbers aren't available for the size of this cohort, Luminosity president Elizabeth Dolinski estimates it to be in the range of 8 million to 10 million.

According to polling for the study, 25 percent of boomerangers are back with their parents because they lack the financial resources to sustain a household of their own. But 35 percent have made a choice to boomerang so they can build up their savings for future purposes. The rest have come back for a variety of reasons, notes Dolinski -- "waiting to be married, to help their parents, convenience, etc." (The quantitative survey was conducted March-May, along with Luminosity Real-Time Lifestyle Map research that gathered further quantitative and qualitative information from participants.)

A DECISION-MAKING ROLE
These nuances are often lost on companies that could be selling their wares to boomerangers. "Marketers are more apt to think of the typical 'loser' living at home," notes Dolinski. In so doing, marketers miss the fact that boomerangers play a large role -- for some categories a leading role -- in decisions about what the household buys. "In many cases, marketers focus on boomer parents when they should focus on adult children," she says. "For example, while mom/dad may be the homeowner, decisions about cable, telephony and technology are frequently made by the adult children in the home."

It's not just a matter of helping the old folks make choices about new technologies. The polling finds 80 percent of boomerangers involved in buying groceries for the household. "Grocery stores and food-product manufacturers should note that mom is not the only grocery shopper in the household," says Dolinski. "Even products which are 'family staples' may be purchased by boomerangers. Examples of this include basics like milk, yogurt, soda, juice and ice cream."

And what's true in the kitchen is true elsewhere in the house. "In the bathroom, boomerangers purchase personal items, such as hair care and cosmetics," says Dolinski. "But they also purchase shared items such as toothpaste, medicine and cleaning supplies."



MAKING (BUT BREAKING) BUDGETS
Budgeting is not a strong suit of boomerangers. Sixty-one percent said they establish a budget. However, just 40 percent of these budgeters "think they stick to their budget well," says the report. On the plus side for marketers, though, this means that boomerangers are willing as well as able to spend. That's true even of those identified by Luminosity as "Savers," i.e., those who willingly returned to their parents' home so they could salt money away.

"Although Savers are at home to save money, not all of them are making progress toward this goal," says Dolinski. "In fact only 57 percent have a specific time line for moving out, and only 53 percent have a monthly budget. This leaves lots of room for marketers to encourage Savers to spend their disposable income." And the fact that a majority isn’t paying rent to their parents means more of their income falls into the "disposable" category.  

Given the "loser" stereotype traditionally associated with boomeranging, would it be tactless on the part of marketers to address today's boomerangers as people who (for the moment) have adopted this living arrangement? "It would only be tactless if the reference to their living situation was a negative reference," suggests Dolinski. "As boomerangers may feel misrepresented in pop culture and advertising, there is an opportunity for marketers to connect with the cohort by showing them a more accurate portrait of themselves. Imagine the contrast if a financial institution showed a commercial depicting a boomeranger using a savings product to save for a house, vs. the FreeCreditReport.com commercials that currently target this age range."

LARGELY HAPPY
Those who've boomeranged because they can't afford to do otherwise aren't very pleased by their situation, with 82 percent of these "Strugglers" (as the study dubs them) reporting that "living at home is not fun." For boomerangers in general, though, it's important to keep in mind that they're a largely happy bunch, in part because the role of parents as a financial safety net reduces their level of stress.  

And it's not necessarily as though they view close proximity to their parents as a cross to be borne. "In general, boomerangers are more stressed by their jobs than by their parents," says the report. While noting that boomerangers "show typical socialization behavior for their age group," it says they're "also very connected to their families." This plays out "even during times that are traditionally reserved for friends," the report adds. Thus, between 6 and 8 p.m. on Saturday, 58 percent of the boomerangers surveyed said they "were hanging out with their family rather than with friends."