Upon the creation of e-commerce, purchases were made primarily by young computer savvy males. Even though they still spend a substantial amount of money on the internet, the market has been taken over by a new force. Women are now responsible for over 70% of online buying power, and hundreds of sites have found success by catering to the female shopper.
Now, a new group of online shoppers is growing — The Baby Boomers.
1 in 4 Americans is over 50. This is a market of 76 million Baby Boomers. Every time this generation moves into a market, they dominate it. This generation sent housing prices soaring in the 1970s and 1980s.
While a large part of this demographic is already shopping online, I believe that we have yet to see the greatest push. When the kids move out and the house is paid off, it’s time to start shopping. As more and more baby boomer’s head toward and enter into retirement, online sales will increase.
My own parents are in this generation. Before this past year, my parents never even touched a computer, but now they buy everything online. I have been amazed at how in the last year they have become online shoppers. All of my mother’s Christmas shopping was done online last year.
So how do we market to the baby boomer generation?
I found a great article posted on sba.gov entitled Reaching the Nation’s Mature Market. Here are a few ideas from the article:
- Products should be well designed with broad applicability.
- “The key to success,” claims industrial designer Jim Mueller, “is to produce products flexible enough to be useful for older people and those with disabilities as well as the general population, resulting in products with wide appeal.”
- Don’t assume that 50-plus customers are recalcitrant and brand loyal. According to Rick Adler, “All the studies indicate that mature consumers are as likely, if not more likely, to switch for value.”
- Get 50-plus consumers involved in your sales and marketing. Have them sell, do customer service, and provide insights on how best to appeal to this diverse group. Keep in mind that the generation that said “don’t trust anyone over 30?” is now saying “don’t trust anyone under 30?” and may very well soon be saying “don’t trust anyone under 50.”
Also, I would like your input, what’s the best way to reach this generation? Feel free to post all of your input here.
References:
- Women and Over 55s Take Lead in Online Shopping
- U.S. Small Business Administration
- ThePrices.com
- Senior Marketing Facts
