Presently, people from the baby boom generation can be found to be playing a variety of roles like grandparents, step-parents, caregivers or empty nesters. In any case, their usage of digital media is extensive.
According to the estimates by eMarketer, in 2010, 78.2% or 59.6 million people belonging to this demographic were active online. In spite of the gradual decline in the number of people belonging to this group (58.1 million), the penetration is expected to remain constant at 78.2% up to 2015. As this demographic represents yearly spending close to $2 trillion, it is essential to consider them in the company internet marketing strategy.
After chasing this demographic for many years, digital marketers now seem to be ignoring this segment, with the age averaging around 55 years. The results of American Life Project and Pew Internet study indicate that in 2010, the younger section of baby boomers, aged between 47 and 55 years, spent around 39.3 hours online every month. The amount of time spent online by the older section of baby boomers, with ages between 56 and 65, was just slightly less at 36.5 hours per month. The good news for marketers is that a lot of this time was spent in online shopping.
According to the reports by Forrester Research, in 2010, the amount of money spent online over a 3 month period by internet users belonging to Generation X (35-46 years) was around $581, millennials (18-34) spend around $429, while baby boomers spent around $650.
All these figures indicate that baby boomers not only spend more time online compared to other demographics, but also represent the segment spending highest amount of money online. As such, they are an important demographic for internet marketers.