Buy Buy Baby Boomer

Brandweek, June 26, 2000 by Gina Czark

Quick: Picture the average Internet shopper. If the image that popped into your brain was of a young techie turk, think again. Think his dad.

While they may be surfing the Web to buy their Eminem CDs and Harry Potter tomes, teenagers are not the medium's primary shopper. According to a recent survey, their parents' generation is leading online purchasing and bringing the activity mainstream.

"The Interactive Consumer: Charting the Online Shopping Revolution," commissioned by Parade magazine and conducted by research firm Greenfield Online concluded that 85% of Internet users are now shopping online and that baby boomers (age 35-54) are leading the pack: 48% are purchasing online, vs. 35% of those 18-34. The average Internet shopper, according to the findings: age 42 and male (55% vs. 45% female shoppers).

Web-shopping drivers included convenience, location and thriftiness. Seventy-four percent mentioned 24/7 shopping capabilities and 68% said they like that e-commerce saves time and trips to the mall or store. The Web came in handy for 66% who said the medium allows them to shop at stores not available in their geographic area, while 54% said they wanted to check out the goods without annoying salespeople nipping at their heels. Online promotions and special sales attracted 57%.

The advertising methods most effective for directing them to music, books and computer software--the top online purchases--were banner ads (67%) and Web links (65%).And more than half claim that they take note of those everpresent URLs tagged onto TV ads: 56% said at least one has prompted them to visit a site.