Do individuals of all ages use the internet? Many business owners and marketers wonder that very question when planning out their yearly marketing calendar. No one wants to waste money marketing their product or service to an age range who ultimately won’t show up. For those of you who stay up at night pondering this question, we decided to dig up some research and serve you an answer.
In 2013, The Pew Research Internet Project released a study on who is not online and why. The Who Is Not Online And Why study shows 15% of all Americans are not connected online. At Campaignium, we tend to feel this approach is a glass half empty method and think it could be spun in a more positive way.
A majority of all age ranges use the internet for search, 85% of all American adults to be exact. The largest range of internet adopters is no surprise, at 98% the 18-29 year old adults come in first. The 30-49 year old adults come in second at 92% and the 50-64 year old adults are third at 83%.
Even individuals 65+ are represented in this study. You might be asking how much? 56% of adults age 65+ use the internet to find products or services they want to purchase. 2012 was the first time adults in the 65+ bracket embraced the internet at a level of more than 50%. If your target market is the 65+ age range, maybe the internet should be considered in your marketing mix. Give it another 2-5 years and the 65+ age range will have a 70%+ adoption rate. It’s a good time to start marketing on the internet.
Check out the graph below depicting this research.
Many people should stop thinking that the internet is only filled with younger generations. Older adults are adopting the internet at a huge rate. A majority of the 65+ age range searches the internet and is online looking for products or services. This is a strong target market and targeting them on the internet should be thought about when you consider your next campaign. Do you have a great example of targeting the 65+ crowd online? If so, please share it below.
