• by Masha Geller , July 8, 2003

A new survey from ThirdAge Inc., a research and marketing company that focuses exclusively on over 40 "mid-lifers," reveals that consumers over age 50 are more receptive than marketers may believe to products and services offered online.

In fact, the survey finds that consumers over 50 are likely to be the first to try new products and spread the word about them.

Moreover, the over-50 group exhibits interests and aspirations that reflect active lifestyles more generally associated with younger generations, suggesting that online marketers need to rethink how they reach this powerful group of consumers.

According to the online survey of 1000 visitors to www.thirdage.com, online consumers over 50 are eager to learn about new products and services and are tolerant, and often interested in - drum roll please - online advertising. In fact, people over 50 "spread the word" about what they find online.

According to the data, 24% of consumers aged 50 and over use the Internet between 11-20 hours per week, and almost half (43%) say they use it between 11 and 30 hours per week. 90% access the Internet at home. Also, most online consumers over 50 say they forward information found on the Internet to others. A vast majority (83%) forward information found on the Internet to their friends, to their children (58%) and siblings (33%). They also search for information for others: 65% for friends, 48% for their children.

In addition, the online population of Internet users over 50 reached 31.3 million Americans. In just four years time, this number of Internet users over 50 is expected to reach 51.7 million Americans, according to Jupiter Communications. And according to Nielsen/Net Ratings, 57% of consumers over 50 connect to the Internet via broadband, compared with only 13% of the overall U.S. population.

Over the next 15 years, the 50- to-64-year-old population will grow by a half (50%). Meanwhile, according to Sales & Marketing Magazine, the age 18 to 40 Gen-X and Gen-Y populations will grow a mere 3% combined, yet marketers cater to them.