Only a very small percentage of baby boomers have said that they would buy products advertised on smartphones.
Mobile ads have been taking off at an exponential rate in the United States, and as younger device users are enjoying the convenience and ease of m-commerce, baby boomers aren’t nearly as enthusiastic.
People in that generation are far less likely to enjoy receiving advertising when they use their smartphones.
According to the results of a study from eMarketer, almost three out of every four American cellular phone users – that is, 59.3 percent of the entire U.S. population – is a smartphone owner who uses his or her device at least one time every month in 2015. Smartphone penetration is greatest among younger generations. For instance, among device users between the ages of 25 and 34 years old, 90.2 percent have smartphones. Comparatively, in the age group of people aged 65 years and older and who own mobile devices, only 40.7 percent own smartphones that they use at least once monthly. Baby boomers are in the middle of those two groups, with a penetration rate of 64.4 percent.
That said, while they are mostly open to using the tech, they do not like receiving mobile ads.
Research conducted by Experian Marketing Services showed that Boomers like mobile ads far less than Generation Xers and Millennials. This study revealed that among baby boomers, only 28 percent agreed that “my mobile phone connects me to my social world.” Among those in Generation X, the figure was 46.2 percent, and among Millennials, it was slightly higher at 53.5 percent.
Baby Boomers were also much less likely to say that they felt that text messages were as meaningful to them as spoken conversations and were less likely to say that they used their mobile phones as their primary devices for accessing the internet.
Still, as much as boomers don’t like mobile ads, they are still considerable buyers of digital content, as about 2 out of every 3 baby boomers will make a digital purchase at some point in 2015, which is only a handful of percentage points behind the leaders, the Millennial generation.
In order for advertisers to effectively engage consumers, they will need to become more adept at timing their campaigns so that they reach those that are in the mood to shop with their mobile devices. OtherLevels examined five test groups, representing certain demographics of mobile shoppers, and found that inconsistent marketing campaigns can inspire disinterest in consumers. The report found that a steady flow of messages from marketers led consumers to use their apps more often and shop at greater frequency. Poorly times messages, however, had the opposite effect.