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Media Metrix made the announcement last month: Surfers over 50 are the fastest growing demographic for online music sites. They are increasingly present as consumers on sites such as CDNow, Real.com, and yes, the outlaw bane of the recording industry, Napster. It's a trend that Candace Corlett, a partner at WSL Strategic Retail, a New York-based consulting firm, had already been tracking across a broad range of categories, from online music to retailing to publications. "The reason everyone is surprised is that when you say 'over 50' everyone automatically thinks 90," she says. The market that includes the leading edge of the baby boom is a long way from 90. "And they are not technologically ignorant, either," she says. But the news will certainly rattle many in traditional online marketing circles, since for much of its existence, the Internet has been viewed as a commerce avenue primarily for teens and their immediate elders. E-tailers pushing fashion, music, and trendy sportswear were considered the sure bets of the industry. Sellers of more -- shall we say -- mature products, such as career clothes or prestige cosmetics made only token efforts online, figuring it was mostly kids who would do the surfing. Not so. Still, the over-50 crowd is not yet doing enough online to keep the industry afloat. But they're there. So how to get them to boost their clicking? • Ease up on the tech tricks. Whirling, dancing, flaming stuff on your site is great fun for the younger set but silly to the more senior surfer. Send.com does everything possible to give its site an air of quiet, mature dignity. Well done. So why spend time and money on a doohickey that when clicked on simulates the opening of a Send.com box? All shopping halts whilst this virtual box lifts off it own lid and gently fans its contents for the viewer. Don't bother. Even high-end technology like streaming video is best aimed at the kids. "Frenetic, moving sites are just not attractive to this market," Corlett says. • Emphasize service, even over price. The good news is, the 50-plus crowd has cash to throw around online. The bad news -- they have no problem shifting right back to those good old dinosaur stores if the online experience is unpleasant. Late packages, incorrect orders, poor customer assistance, surprise out-of-stock items -- they're poison. Treat these experienced shoppers well: They're not teenagers, and they know what service ought to be. • Shift your marketing messages from "cool" to "smart." Young people are drawn to the Internet for its newness, it's place on the cutting edge. But to lure the baby boom's leading edge to your site, you'll have to promise more. Just being trendy is not much of a come-on. This group has been trend-setting for decades. But promise them an edge, a headstart, an inside scoop, a tip. Now they're clicking. Once the online marketers recover from the shock of learning that it's their parents -- not their children -- they should be targeting, they'll realize this generation flip is actually very good news for e-commerce. Consumers over 50 have good money to spend and lots of expensive habits, like home ownership and dependent children. What's more, they don't need anyone's permission to use the credit cards. It's really a terrific market, much more lucrative in the short term than fickle teens. But to make that market a reality, the online world is going to have to do some tweaking of its product. It's not just for kids anymore. Neuborne offers her marketing insights once a month for BW Online's e.biz Perspective Have a question or a comment? Let her know at ellen_neuborne@ebiz.businessweek.com. |
