BLOG: Mind the age gap

The growing influence of the internet has led to a sea change in consumer spending habits in recent years. At least that’s the theory. What with comparison websites all the rage and social media platforms continuing to play an increasingly prominent role in our lives, we’re now more likely to go online to research and purchase certain products. But does age have an influence on the way we interact with brands?

With the rise of multi-channel communication in mind, we recently decided to do some digging at The Listening Company, targeting three age groups, comprising of people between 16 and 55 years old across the organisation, to see if technology really has altered the way we source information and splash the cash.

We asked more than 600 people how they research and buy a large range of products and services, from current accounts and entertainment subscriptions, to holidays, clothes, cars and white goods.

Email, phone and internet – which constitute the three pillars of the epi framework – figured prominently and accounted for the bulk of our responses in the 16 – 30 year old age group when it came to researching and buying products. More than 70% use epi when researching entertainment and transport and 67% for insurance. 61% use epi when purchasing insurance and 56% for telecoms.

Generally, 31 – 44 year olds use epi more than their younger counterparts. More than 75% use epi to research savings, utilities and holidays. 63% use epi when buying telecoms and 59% for personal technology.

Unsurprisingly, social networking was the overwhelming winner when the 16 – 30’s were asked what they primarily used internet on their mobiles for, with 59% selecting this response. Social networking again topped the primary use of mobile internet (34%) with emailing and receiving live updates of news and sports events not far behind.

For the 45 and overs, epi proved popular when buying utilities (81%) and white goods (60%). Face-to-face meetings was a more prominent method of communication than for the younger generations when researching current accounts, investments and cars and company websites are the key to informing brand choices for this generation.

The results showed that the advancement of email, phone and the internet has triggered a transformation in consumer behaviour with customers now more comfortable serving themselves online.

The need for a strong multi-channel experience has never been more important and the technology now exists to solve any online conundrum. Let’s just hope brands realize the importance of these technological advancements and use them to their advantage.

by Neville Upton, Apr 22 2010, 05:42 PM