I think one of the misconceptions about the online community is that baby boomers aren’t that internet savvy. Well here’s a study from Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing that tells a different story.
I think the statistic that is the most telling is that 66% pay bills online. Paying bills online takes a lot of confidence in the system and proves that you can do business with these people online. Which is a good thing since this demographic has the money.
And, if you don’t sell directly online notice that 67% do research online which is also good if you have a good web site and are connected to your local retailers.
All good.
I do not agree that paying bills indicates significant trust in online financial transactions. On the contrary, I think it indicates that many baby boomers are ignoring what we all know about how easily data is compromised when security is breached. They are doing some chores strictly for convenience, or because there is a savings of postage by using online bill paying systems. I do not see that activity as a fair example which can be generalized to a broad engagement with retail services. Baby boomers are wary about giving up information online. Even retail stores are trying to get people’s email along with their zipcode information when they make a purchase. Technology competence is higher among baby boomers than most businesses suspect, but fear of security breaches keep us sanguine about expanding our transactions online. Until security on line is stronger, I think this demographic will be more cautious than younger internet users.
Be careful how you interpret this information. Yes, they are using online services more and are using them in similar proportions to other generations (albeit somewhat less) – what they are doing on those sites is quite different.
For more information – go read the following research by Pew Research
http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/41–The-Democratization-of-Online-Social-Networks.aspx
http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/19-Similarities-and-Differences-in-Online-Social-Network-Use.aspx
For example, this research shows that Boomers are using Social Networking sites more, but they haven’t changed their activities significantly. In otherwords, most older adults are voyeuristic on these sites and are not participating in any reinforcing way.