As International Grandparents’ Day was celebrated yesterday (5 October), new data is showing that Baby Boomers in South Africa are defying what it means to be old – especially when it comes to their adventurous online surfing and shopping habits.
Take South African comic, Barry Hilton, whose age is somewhere north of 50. “I have definitely embraced the digital age. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, I have my own YouTube channel and I’ve even just written a motivational course on how to write snappy one-liners for social media, which will be released soon. My wife buys books for our young son on kalahari.com. I even sell my ‘Nou Gaan Ons Braai’ t-shirt range online.”
Hilton likes shopping for carpentry items because he does woodwork, and also buys plane and movie tickets online.
While Barry and his generation grew up in a time before televisions, computers, mobile phones and digital cameras, SA’s favourite e-commerce website, kalahari.com can reveal that they are embracing technology judging by their
shopping and surfing choices.
In a review of their over-55 customers’ online behaviour, kalahari.com found that not only do these silver-haired shoppers embrace online and mobile shopping but that it’s actually a growing customer segment.
“We estimate that about 17% of our visitors are over the age of 55 and this segment is growing slightly faster rate than that of our younger shoppers,” says Kirby Gordon, head of brand and communication at kalahari.com.
Gone are the days when oldies were technophobes – when it comes to online shopping, mature mouse-clickers are faster than the youngsters, according to kalahari.com data analytics.
“Our older shoppers get their business done in around 95% of the time it takes our average 25 to 34 year old to make a purchase. They are also the most decisive customers, with statistics indicating that they know what they want when they come to visit, and they tend to find it and check out pretty fast,” says Gordon.
Kalahari.com’s analysis reveals that older buyers are in the market for:
* Mobile phones;
* Home furnishings, appliances, DIY tools, decorating items and related books;
* Fashion accessories;
* Cameras and related equipment; and
* A wide range of books.
This is compared to youngsters who are looking for:
* Mobile phones;
* Computer accessories and components;
* Fashion accessories;
* Computers, laptops, notebooks, tablets and other portable devices; and
* Appliances.
Older women are also more active on kalahari.com than gents with the gender split being 60/40 skewed towards females. The overall gender split for kalahari.com shoppers is 50/50.
When they’re not shopping online, the older folks use the internet to: check out the weather online; look at celeb gossip; check out recipes; Look into craft “how tos” especially textile arts; and watch online videos.
This compared to 25 to 34 year olds who tend to: watch a lot of online video (YouTube); look at job listings; check out smartphones; catch up on soccer news; and read about the latest celeb gossip.