Demographics: The changing face of customers
Demographics: The changing face of customers
Read MoreTag: Retailing
The web is getting grey on top
More old people are jumping on to the Internet and the over 55 year-olds now represent nearly one in five of internet users, according to research by Nielsen Online.
Nielsen Online has released figures for the changing age make-up of the UK Internet population as well as the youngest and oldest audiences amongst the 100 most popular brands in the UK.
Over the last year (October 2006-October 2007) the share of the UK internet population made up by under 25-year-olds has decreased from 29% to 25%, while the share of over 55-year-olds has risen from 16% to 19%. At the same time, the average age of the UK internet population has risen from 35.7 to 37.9.
Unsurprisingly high street retailer Marks & Spencer has the oldest average online age at 46.5, while the site with the youngest UK online audience is online games portal Miniclip, with an average age of 28.1.
The top 10 online brands with the youngest average age include the inevitable download site – Limewire, entertainment sites – Nickleodeon, Disney, and social networking sites Bebo.
The top five online brands with the oldest average age are all familiar high-street brands, including M&S, John Lewis, and Nationwide. More surprising are the average ages for supposed “youth orientated” web sites, YouTube has an average age of 34.4, FaceBook 34.6, MSN 36.2 and blogger 38.5.
Alex Burmaster, internet analyst at Nielsen Online, “When looking at how a particular audience is composed by age, a change in share – even by just a few percentage points – actually represents quite a fundamental shift. Age compositions tend to evolve subtly over a number of years so to see such large changes in the course of just a year shows that the Internet population is undergoing a significant ageing process. It will be very interesting to see whether this trend continues over the next 12 months and, if so, whether the types of services and products offered and marketed online adapt to reflect this changing population. New online offerings and technology are usually targeted at the young, but it’s possible brands could be missing a trick if they continue down this path in the future.”
Read MoreUS Christmas retail spending surpasses USD 22 Billion
According to the latest figures from comScore, e-commerce spending for the first 44 days of the November – December 2007 Christmas season (November 1 – December 14) showed more than USD 22 billion has been spent online during the season-to-date, marking an 18 pct gain versus the corresponding days last year. Monday, December 10 reached USD 881 million in sales (up 33 pct versus last year), registering as the heaviest online spending day of the season and the heaviest online spending day on record. However they expect things to hot up this week.
While the US seems to be calming down certain sites in the UK seem to be going into meltdown. We went to the Argos site to check on our order of IR presents at just after 2pm this afternoon and there was so much traffic it had defaulted to a message that basically said “we are experiencing heavy traffic please ring, email, text or visit the store.” Although the Monday lunchtime news featured a quite empty looking Argos packing centre, perhaps the news spurred on a whole new set of orders. Could this be the solution? Get a web cam in your packing centre and just loop a slow time in the warehouse video and “bingo” extra sales.
Read MoreClick to buy
AMERICA’S spendthrift consumers have long been a driver of global economic growth, merrily emptying their wallets and purses on the back of rising house prices and cheap money. So, many nervous eyes have been watching how consumers would react to falling house prices and the squeeze on credit. Happily for retailers and the wider economy, and despite lower consumer confidence, Americans are spending more than ever—online, at least. Since the beginning of November online spending is up by 18% compared with 2006, according to comScore, an internet-information provider. And on Thursday December 6th shoppers rang up USD 803m, the biggest online spending day yet, contributing to record weekly sales of USD 4.6 billion.
Read MoreRoyal Mail set to deliver a record 120 million items ordered online (UK)
Online retailers are set to enjoy a bumper Christmas this year as Royal Mail predicts it will deliver a record 120 million items ordered online this festive season – double the number handled just three years ago.
The UK’s 27 million online shoppers are expected to spend GBP 15 billion online in the run up to Christmas, up 60 per cent on last year, according to industry body IMRG.
Royal Mail has been working with internet retailers to plan for the online rush for Christmas presents and to ensure it delivers a high level of service.
And to help online stores offer the best service possible, Royal Mail recently launched two new services to improve the delivery experience for shoppers. Royal Mail Tracked enables retailers to provide their customers with a tracking number when the goods ordered are dispatched so that the shopper can track the progress of the delivery themselves. And the Safeplace service also gives shoppers the opportunity to specify a safe, alternative delivery point, such as a shed, porch or neighbour, should they not be at home to receive the item.
Royal Mail’s Home Shopping Tracker Study 2007 revealed that the average online shopper now purchases over 27 times a year, spending GBP 1,221. But the role of catalogues in the virtual world is a strong as ever, and shoppers who browse them before making purchases online spend GBP 1,526 a year – 25 per cent more than those who don’t.
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