TL;DR
Get your next haul delivered free — and shop member deals
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
A PYMNTS report published Oct. 3 brings together research on elder millennials, DINKWADs, HENRYs and solo agers to show how household circumstances and personal priorities shape spending. The findings come from separate studies and surveys, so they do not establish how common these patterns are across all consumers.
A PYMNTS report published Oct. 3 highlights how spending patterns can differ among elder millennials, DINKWADs and HENRYs, drawing on separate research about hobbies, dog-centered choices and collectible purchases. The figures describe particular surveys and customer groups, not all people in those categories, but point to practical differences that retailers and financial firms may need to account for.
Bank of America Institute research cited by PYMNTS found that older millennials spent more per customer on hobbies than any other generation in August. The institute defined the group as people born from 1978 through 1988. It also estimated that this group had about four hours and 15 minutes of leisure time a day, the least among generations in the study. Bank of America suggested some hobby purchases may be for children as well as for the customers themselves.
The institute reported that hobby spending across its customers rose 7.9% in August from a year earlier, while the number of hobby purchases increased 3.4%. Those figures cover Bank of America customers and that month’s year-over-year comparison; they are not a measure of every household’s spending. The gap between the change in spending and purchases is consistent with higher costs per purchase, though the report does not identify the reason for that difference.
A OnePulse survey of 250 DINKWADs in the United Kingdom found that 44% had planned a holiday entirely around their dog, while nearly one-third had chosen a car based on how well the dog fit inside. DINKWAD means a dual-income couple with no children and a dog. Separately, Pew Research Center found that 12% of U.S. married couples with at least one spouse in their 30s or 40s had two incomes and no children in 2023, up from 8% a decade earlier. Pew’s figure does not indicate how many of those couples owned dogs.
HENRY stands for “high earners, not rich yet.” Chubb reported in July on a survey of 1,000 self-identified HENRY collectors, ages in their early 20s through 45. Within that surveyed group, 64% owned watches or jewelry, 51% collected art or antiques, and 47% had insured their collections. The report describes a selected group of collectors, not all high earners.
How household priorities shape purchases
The findings offer a reminder that income and age alone do not explain spending. A person’s responsibilities, household structure and interests can influence what they buy, what they protect and how they plan. A hobby purchase may serve a customer or a child; a dog may affect travel and vehicle choices; a collection can bring both enjoyment and insurance needs.
For retailers, banks and payment providers, these distinctions can matter when designing products or interpreting customer behavior. The report argues that understanding what a purchase supports may be more useful than treating a label as a complete description of a person. The data, however, do not establish that every member of a group behaves alike or that labels alone can predict an individual’s needs.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The groups behind the spending labels
The labels refer to different, sometimes overlapping circumstances. Elder millennials are an age cohort whose boundaries depend on the definition used; Bank of America’s study used birth years 1978 to 1988. DINKWAD describes a household with two incomes, no children and a dog, while HENRY describes high earners who have not yet accumulated substantial wealth. An elder millennial could also fit either of the latter descriptions.
The report also discusses solo agers, older adults who live without a spouse or partner at home. AARP research cited by PYMNTS found that many value the freedom and control associated with living alone. Their circumstances may affect choices around financial advice, future care, scam protection and who can act on their behalf. The source provides no single spending statistic for solo agers, so their inclusion is about financial planning needs rather than a quantified purchasing trend.
These categories come from different studies with different methods, samples and dates. They are not parts of one unified survey and should not be compared as if they measured the same population. The labels can help describe a particular decision or household situation, but they do not replace details about an individual’s finances or preferences.
“People of similar ages can have very different claims on their money.”
— PYMNTS report
dog travel accessories for car trips
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
What the surveys cannot establish
The findings do not show how representative each sample is of the wider population. The DINKWAD results come from 250 people in the United Kingdom; Chubb’s figures come from self-identified HENRY collectors; and the hobby-spending data cover Bank of America customers. They should not be read as national estimates for all dog owners, high earners or millennials.
The report also does not provide detailed methods or margin-of-error information for every cited study. Pew’s U.S. household statistic counts married couples with two incomes and no children in the specified age range, but does not count dog ownership. The reasons behind the rise in hobby spending, the future value of collected items and how consumer behavior may change are not established by the figures provided.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How businesses apply the findings
The report describes patterns in previously conducted studies rather than announcing a new survey, policy or product. No further research release or company action is specified in the source material. The next developments to watch would be additional data that clarify whether these patterns hold across broader populations and over time.
For now, businesses can treat the findings as prompts to ask what a customer is trying to support—such as a child’s activity, a pet, a valuable collection or independent living—rather than assuming a demographic label supplies the answer. Whether companies change their services in response, and whether such changes improve outcomes for consumers, remains unclear.
art and antique collection insurance
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
What does DINKWAD mean?
It describes a dual-income couple with no children and a dog. The OnePulse figures cited in the report came from a survey of 250 DINKWADs in the United Kingdom.
Who are HENRYs?
HENRY stands for high earners, not rich yet. In the Chubb research cited by PYMNTS, the respondents were self-identified HENRY collectors, not a sample of all high-income earners.
What did the report find about elder millennials?
Bank of America Institute found that customers it classified as older millennials spent more per customer on hobbies than other generations in August. It defined older millennials as people born from 1978 through 1988.
Do the findings describe all people in these groups?
No. The report combines separate studies with different samples and methods. Its figures are group-specific observations, not proof that every elder millennial, DINKWAD or HENRY spends the same way.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
