Older Shoppers Spend Over £14 Billion Online

Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - 08:43 by Graham Miller

The importance of the over-55s to the UK’s e-commerce market is on the rise, with a new study from Greenlight indicating that by the end of 2015 people that fall into this age group will have spent almost £14.5 billion via safe shopping online, according to the Telegraph.

In spite of the increased use of e-commerce sites by older consumers, over three-quarters of retailers are still largely ignoring this group when it comes to promotional activities.

76 per cent of people in the UK who are aged over 55 buy items via safe shopping online once a month or more, with 90 per cent relying on the web to carry out research before they make a purchase of any kind.

Report spokesperson Andreas Pouros said that since the over-55s tend to have significantly more disposable income than youngsters, it makes sense for retailers to make greater efforts to appeal to them with their online offerings.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a difference in the online habits of consumers of different ages, with the report finding that while social media services tend to be used by Millennials as the go-to place for online activities, the over-55s are more inclined to pay attention to user reviews, blogs and media coverage.

The fact that retailers are not paying attention to the over-55s is not just something that analysts have noticed, as the report found that people who fall into this age group are actively aware of the lack of engagement they are receiving from the sites they use.

It is also recommended that companies take steps to address how their sites are designed in order to assess whether or not they are intuitive enough for an older audience to use with ease. A few simple changes could make a big difference to older consumers.