Empty-Nester Boomers surprisingly tech-savvy
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
As many as 82 percent of women "Empty-Nester Boomers" spend more time browsing for products online than in-store, according to a report from Influence Central and Vibrant Nation.
The report, "Redefining Empty-Nesters: How The Power Generation Takes Control Of Consumer Purchasing," was based on an online survey of more than 600 American women 45 years and older. Empty-Nester Boomers are characterized as people born between the years 1946 and 1964 who do not have children living at home.
The study found Empty-Nester Boomers versed in shopping with their mobile devices, as 65 percent said they use smartphones to look up product information, while 64 percent have made purchases using their tablets.
These findings align with the key result from the survey: 71 percent of Empty-Nesters disagree with the trope that they are "behind the times" and are disengaged with consumerism and pop culture. In fact, 68 percent consider themselves independent thinkers who are the first to try new things.
"Our research showed that a profound disconnect exists in how this generation sees themselves and how they’re viewed externally," said Stacy DeBroff, CEO of Influence Central. "Today’s Empty-Nesters feel confident, tech-savvy and highly connective online, yet marketers still stereotype them as passively consuming traditional media and swept up in advertising. Empty-Nesters are embracing social media and today’s online recommendation culture, ignoring and disliking advertising, and completely redefining their consumer journey."
For this generation, first- and third-person reviews play a key role in their purchasing decisions. To start the path-to-purchase, 90 percent of respondents search for an item online through Google or another search engine. Four out of five respondents consider first-person recommendations posted online before making a purchase, while 85 percent agreed that they would tell a lot of other people if they had either a positive or a negative experience with a new brand, product or service.
More than 85 percent of respondents trust third-person product reviews from retail sites such as Amazon.com or Target.com. In addition, 45 percent of Empty-Nesters are more likely to purchase a product if it is recommended by a blogger they follow.
Discussion Questions
Do you agree there is a disconnect between how the Empty-Nester Boomer generation sees “themselves and how they’re viewed externally?” Are retailers and brands underestimating the capacity to reach tech-savvy older consumers?
I am an empty-nester Baby Boomer, and I agree with the premise that there are plenty of tech-savvy members of our vast age group. As with any other demographic, there are early adopters and late adopters—but simply to walk about in public with your eyes open will validate the research.
As Baby Boomers continue to embrace not only mobile shopping but also mobile payment, retailers with all sorts of target markets will need to scramble to keep up with their customers’ level of tech sophistication.
There’s not a disconnect. There is a chasm. Marketers, in their rush for youth, have all but abandoned the generation with the most disposable income.
Boomers consider themselves to be eternally young. They are tech savvy and own the latest devices. The empty-nesters among them have the time to read reviews and shop online. And unlike Gen Y, Boomers are not turned off by advertising.
Marketers, pay attention.
Empty-Nester Baby Boomers see themselves differently than they are viewed externally. This is a surprise? Many, if not most, people see themselves differently than others see them. Boomers are no exception.
True Boomers were older when technology changed the way many people shop, but
BI Intelligence earlier this month reported that 45 percent of all those 65 and older use Facebook. I realize Facebook use is not the strongest indicator of tech savvy, but it is indicative the Baby Boomers can and do use technology.
Like Dick I am too an empty-nester Baby Boomer. While I admit I might use technology less than some, I ordered shoes and other items this week online. We needed a new company to do snow plowing and my wife researched and selected companies to talk with from online reviews.
There is definitely a disconnect between how advertisers and marketers view Empty-Nester Boomer consumers, and what has evolved into reality. For one, the “older” generation is now much younger than the “older generation” from years past. Most of us had kids that forced us into learning how to use computers a long time ago. Secondly, purchasing products online or via smart phones is really very simple. Empty Nesters might be older but they certainly are not naive. And finally, I would add that the biggest misconception about this generation is that they are set in their ways and won’t consider changes. Really? This was the ’60s generation, the Pepsi generation and most of all it was the original “generation gap” crowd. This generation is all about change and progress! Duh!
I agree there is a disconnect between the concept and reality of how Empty-Nesters are viewed. Today’s Empty-Nesters are definitely more tech-savvy and should be viewed as such. Certainly as the generations grow, each generation will be more savvy than the previous one.
The content of this discussion has served to dilute the title of “tech-savvy” much more than to disclose the reasons for Baby Boomer technology use and proliferation. User-friendly smartphones and tablets that are stuffed with applications that have a practical value are the reasons for much of this success. Being an Empty-Nester provides for the other half of the equation: affordability. I would talk more about this but must run to make an appointment. We are upgrading her to an iPhone 6 and me to a Droid Turbo. The reasons are very simple, more screen and more power in the same order.
Not only are we tech-savvy, our parents are too. My elderly parents use tablets and PCs to surf the web and shop. Retailers shouldn’t underestimate Boomers, or the folks in assisted living either.
Whoever is actually surprised by this has been away for a very long time. My goodness. Among other things, I’m involved in bringing innovations to senior housing. There too online access is assumed—this isn’t your grandmother’s nursing home! Seniors, who have slightly less independent mobility, are buying online as well.
Note to retailers: ignore this online market at your peril. Just keep this in mind: how you design websites, carts and so on needs a huge rethink if you’re focused on the over-70 crowd.
Every time my Millennial students ask me how to do something with technology, I realize that I am not behind the times!
I smile reading about questioning “older consumers” and technology. A personal challenge is keeping my 96 year old father-in-law and 93 year old mother-in-law’s computers functional given their daily usage. They and all of their peers are active online. While this segment may not be big basket shoppers, their usage patterns and issues portend an emergent trend: content and interfaces need to reflect the needs of divergent populations. One-site-fits-all is legacy thinking. Maybe versioning of Retail websites to reflect the needs of various segments? Then again, my 96 year old father-in-law wouldn’t self select the “Old Fart” tab …
What Max said!
Ian too!
And don’t forget Charlie Brown … “Good Grief!”
Since we ran this survey with Influence Central, you can expect me to agree—but I’m glad to see that others do, too.
Now that Generation X is turning 50 and entering this life-stage too, we hope marketers and agencies will understand that the people who are becoming Empty-Nesters today have been online as long as anyone. And nothing moves them as much as the opinions of their peers online. Our partners are excited to watch this powerful recommendation and content engine of vibrant influencers 45-and-older motivate their peers to take action.
Oh crap I just realized that I’m one of them too.
My kids are millennial, digital native types who ridicule me because I still read news printed on … paper!
So I remind them that I’ve been doing computing of various kinds since the sepia-toned days of teletypes, time-sharing, paper tape, and IBM punch-card machines the size of Opel GTs. I wrestled with the CPM command prompt, VisiCalc, green-on-black CRTs, 200-baud modems, Xywrite, and eventually WYSIWYG desktop publishing.
Don’t get me started.
Compared with those early days, checking the product reviews on a Web-connected tablet is a cinch for most of us “Empty-Nester Boomers.” If you have stuff to sell and you’re not thinking that we might be a significant part of your target market, then maybe it’s time for YOU to retire.
Yes, just like there are young people who use paper coupons, there are mature folks who are highly tech-savvy. For about every one “empty-nester boomer” I know who despises having to use technology, there are nine who embrace it (or at least are proficient in it because of their job, their kids and so on). So yes, kind of the Grand Canyon sort of chasm in how these folks are viewed externally and how they see themselves.
We need to progress beyond thinking of behaviors as either “tech savvy” or “not tech savvy.” Technology is so accessible these days that it has become ingrained in everyday life for every age group (although there are some behavioral differences between groups).
Just like we don’t say that people are “electricity savvy” when they know how to turn on lights or plug in an appliance, technology is now part of many daily activities. Because technology has moved into our lives so quickly we don’t quite resist thinking about how pervasive and commonplace it really is.
The real issue is that shoppers have moved much faster than retailers.
Yes. These empty nesters have been tech savvy and keyed into technology since their early years. We cannot forget that they grew up in an age of computers, the true computer boom, and the impact it has had on our society. If you start counting from the early ’80s or even late ’70s (we had to use punch cards and write programs in VSBasic as part of our college requirements) you easily include 45-50 year old women. Add to this that computers have been a mainstay in our lives for at least 20 years, and cell phones as well…and you have a true forced technology awareness….
There’s nothing more this slightly past empty-nester boomer generation can add—everyone hit a home run on this question. The most insightful came from Max Goldberg: “Marketers, in their rush for youth, have all but abandoned the generation with the most disposable income.”
Yes, and the disconnect is surprising since the Boomers have been heavily researched for decades. What’s gone wrong to cause this gap? Retailers and brands are underestimating the use of digital to reach tech-savvy older consumers (women and men).