A recent study conducted by Nielsen has found that in the past five years the number of seniors (age 65 or older) actively using the internet has increased by over 55 percent. While this demographic still makes up less than 10 percent of the overall internet population, 17.5 million users is still an attractive number to any advertiser.
The study found that female seniors are more active web users, outpacing male usage3 by 6 percentage points. The amount of time that these users are spending on the web is increasing as well. In November 2004, seniors reported on average 52 hours per month online, whereas November 2009 saw an increase of 11 percent, raising the total time per month to 58 hours.
“The over 65 crowd represents about 13% of the total population and with this increase in online usage, they are beginning to catch up with their offline numbers,” notes Chuck Schilling, research director, agency & media, Nielsen’s online division. “Looking at what they’re doing online, it makes sense they’re engaged in many of the same activities that dominate other age segments – e-mail, sharing photos, social networking, checking out the latest news and weather – and it’s worth noting that a good percentage of them are spending time with age-appropriate pursuits such as leisure travel, personal health care and financial concerns.”
So just where are these seniors heading? It should come as no surprise that the number one destination was Google, with 10.3 million unique senior visitors. In second place, Nielsen reports Windows Media Player with approximately 8.2 million unique visitors, which is slightly odd, as MWP isn’t really a web destination. And in a strong 3rd place, Facebook, with 7.9 million unique senior visitors. This is a major victory for social networking site Facebook, as just one year prior, they ranked number 45 on seniors’ radar. This statistic falls right in line with an overall increase of 53 percent of seniors’ usage of social networking and blog sites. Overall, 8.2 percent of all social network and blog traffic is over the age of 65, only 0.1 percent less than teenage visitors.
This data could be the genesis of a new marketing strategy employed by some advertisers on Facebook. The data reflecting increased female usage seamlessly falls in line with Q Interactive’s study indicating that women are competitive and loyal customers of casual games. While most gaming companies are focused on pulling in the teen and middle aged crowd, who’s to say that if approached correctly, seniors might have the same buying power as the other two? With only a 0.1 percentage less than teens, and the fact that there’s no asking to use the credit card involved, seniors represent a huge untapped market. The question is – who’ll be first on the scene to develop a product that appeals to them, one that they’d be willing to make a financial commitment to?
Tags: casual game, casual games, Chuck Schilling, Facebook, nielsen, Q interactive, social networking, social networking site
