The Fastest Growing Demographic Segment in Consumer Tech is Not What You Think

This article was written by Jenessa Hunter, SVP Growth at Material

Many consumer tech brands are focusing intently on deepening their understanding of and engagement with younger generations – those born after 1996 in Gen Z and even the emerging Generation Alpha. And understandably so: they are the most tech-savvy generations, digital natives who have grown up in the hyper-connected Internet Age.

But while younger audiences maintain a larger overall share of the consumer tech market, older consumers – especially Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 – are actually the fastest growing demographic in this space. According to Pew research, in the past decade, older Americans have led younger generations in their growth in smartphone, tablet and social media usage.

Yet despite this rise, there is still a disconnect between these consumers’ needs and their real-world experiences with consumer tech brands and products: nearly two thirds of consumers aged 50+ feel that today’s technology is not designed with them in mind.

This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for brands to embrace this dynamic and valuable demographic. To close that gap – and better engage what may be a largely untapped audience – consumer tech brands must deeply understand Boomers’ unique motivations, habits, concerns and behaviors around technology, then tailor their strategies accordingly to deliver relevant solutions and experiences.

Why Boomers are Becoming More Tech-Savvy

The pandemic disrupted the stereotype that Boomers aren’t tech literate, since it forced them to rely on technology more than they ever had before. These experiences provided a boost in confidence in their ability to navigate the latest consumer tech tools, while increasing their understanding of tech’s ability to help them in their daily lives.

Demographic shifts also factor into this trend. Americans are working longer and earning more than before – research shows that one-in-five Americans aged 65 and older were employed last year, nearly double the number 35 years ago, and their earning power (adjusted for inflation) has increased by 69% since 1987.

Consequently, they’re spending more of their money on tech than ever before, too. The AARP found that 71% of consumers aged 50 and older made a tech purchase in 2022, and they spend on average $912 per year, an increase of 130% compared to pre-pandemic numbers.

What Boomers are Looking for in Their Consumer Tech

As older audiences become more interested and invested in technology as a tool to help them live the lives they want, a few key themes are emerging.

Connectivity

Seniors have come to rely on technology to stay connected with their loved ones, especially through the disruptions of the early 2020s. The majority of older Americans text (94%), email (88%), use social media (74%) and video chat (67%) to communicate with family and friends.

Health and aging

In keeping with trends from previous generations, three-quarters of Boomers want to remain at home as they age, though seven out of 10 are living with one or more chronic or serious health conditions. About one-fifth are interested in, or are already using, technology to manage their health. More than half of caregivers for seniors use technology to help them in their work.

Safety and comfort

Smart home devices for security alarms, lighting and appliances can help consumers live and age in place with increased independence, confidence and safety. Recent research from Google Nest suggests that Boomers are quicker to adopt smart home tech than any other generation.

Financial wellness

Seniors increasingly turn to tech solutions like apps and other digital platforms to help monitor and manage their finances. A recent study from Capital One revealed that “digital financial literacy” increases as consumers age, and that, among seniors, “74% rank highly on both digital and financial literacy, nearly three times higher than the 18-24 year old population.”

What’s Holding Boomers Back from Using More Tech?

While Boomers are a fast-growing demographic in consumer tech, they still experience barriers that prevent them from incorporating technology more fully into their lives. Boomers don’t feel supported by tech brands, whether it’s the products themselves, user experience or marketing.

And that feeling isn’t unjustified. Many of today’s hot-button consumer tech items aren’t necessarily relevant or of interest to Boomers – they don’t need drones, VR glasses or other gadgets, but they might benefit from a navigation device that’s easy to read and use, for example, or a tool that helps them keep track of and take their medications.

This is a significant opportunity: if brands can address key pain points, they can begin to close the gap between older consumers’ expectations and current experiences with technology – building stronger customer relationships and brand loyalty in the process.

Lack of clear value proposition

The difference between awareness and actual adoption of technology by older consumers, AARP found, is that they often have a hard time seeing how a specific device, app or service is relevant to their lives. 46% of older adults were aware of remote-controlled smart home devices, for example, yet around half weren’t interested in buying them because they didn’t see the tangible impact the devices would make for them day-to-day.

Ease of adoption and use

Since they’re not digital natives like younger audiences, Boomers tend to be more hesitant about adopting new technology unless it’s easy for them to understand and use. A survey by AARP showed that, when considering a new tech purchase, one in four seniors say design and user experience are barriers they consider – more than cost (19%) and privacy concerns (18%). And three-quarters of respondents said it’s important that any new device works seamlessly with the technology they’re already using.

Trustworthiness

While cybercriminals don’t necessarily discriminate in who they target, the majority of older Americans have either been the target of a cybercrime (75%), been victimized themselves (19%) or know someone who has been victimized by cybercrime (43%). This makes Boomers more hesitant to instinctually trust that new technology is legitimate and worthy of adoption.

How Can Consumer Tech Brands Bridge the Gap?

This is a real opportunity for consumer tech brands to consider this demographic of older consumers as a bona fide priority market segment. Once you decide to take advantage of this opportunity, you’ll need to invest in product development and refinement, customer experience and marketing to deliver what these consumers expect.

With generational differences come diverging habits, mindsets and motivations. It’s not enough to merely tweak your marketing about an existing product that is uninteresting to Boomers; brands must reject “one-size-fits-all” approaches and create products and experiences that will resonate meaningfully with older consumers and build durable connections. For example,

• Boomers use tech in different ways and for different purposes than younger demographic segments. To take advantage of this growing consumer tech audience, brands must personalize their offerings, UX, CX and marketing strategies to align with their motivations, habits, preferences and pain points.

• Boomers aren’t digital natives and didn’t grow up experiencing digital technology like Millennials, Gen Z and now Gen Alpha have. So, brands need to communicate differently to help older consumers see the value of their product or service and to expedite the learning curve.

Of course, while we can point to specific behaviors and traits that apply broadly to consumers of a certain generation, no demographic – Boomer, Millennial or Gen Z – is uniform or static. Humans are complex, and each brings their own unique needs, experiences and expectations to their brand interactions. To deliver relevant, personal and memorable experiences for your customers, it’s essential to know them on a human level and have the ability to translate that understanding into action.

At Material, we work with the world’s leading consumer tech brands to unlock actionable human insights that transform their customer relationships. Our experts in behavioral science, segmentation, brand tracking and qualitative and quantitative research help businesses humanize their user segments, identify growth opportunities and create activation strategies that lead to measurable outcomes.