• by Ross Fadner , November 21, 2003

For marketers looking to reach mature consumers, the Internet probably wouldn't be the first thing to come to mind. And why would it? Online media got its initial traction with the younger set and older consumers are still perceived as being heavy users of TV and print media. All that may have been true, but a new report may go a long way toward changing those impressions.

In fact, the final frontier for online adoption apparently belongs to senior citizens, according to the study from Nielsen/NetRatings. Seniors ages 65 and older are the fastest growing age group of online users.

The study, compiled in October 2003, shows Web usage among seniors surged 25 percent in the last year from 7.6 million to 9.6 million users at home and at work. The senior demographic now makes up 7 percent of the active Internet universe. Adults ages 55-64 had similar growth over the last year as well, jumping 15 percent, from 13.6 million to 15.6 million active online users.

"As a whole, the Internet audience is continuing to become more representative of the general population," said Greg Bloom, senior Internet analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "Thanks to new technologies such as broadband and wireless, the bulk of the Internet's recent growth has been associated to higher levels of activity from experienced web users. However, as we continue to track year-over-year trends, we observe significant upticks in the online presence of important groups such as seniors."

The study also shows that there was a 30 percent increase among mature female users and a 20 percent increase among mature male users in the last year. Nielsen/NetRatings found that in addition to outpacing senior males in audience growth, the rise in usage and average page views per month by female seniors was greater than the increase of senior males in both categories.

Male seniors still dominate in terms of time spent online at more than 50 hours per month, but their usage increased 2 percent compared to a 6 percent increase by female seniors. Female seniors also accelerated their number of page views per month by 14 percent, compared to a slight five percent increase by male seniors in the page view category.

"The overall increase of Web consumption by senior citizens is a great indicator of the growing online market potential with seniors," continued Bloom. "More than 25 million adults over the age of 55 were online last month. That is clear evidence for advertisers and marketers looking to reach those older adults that the Internet should be part of the marketing mix."