A Golden Opportunity –
Are you serving the needs of older online customers?

In all the years we’ve worked in digital accessibility, the needs of older people have rarely been considered a priority.

Given the rate that our populations are ageing, how we are working longer, and the fact that over-70s are the UK’s most online adults after twentysomethings, with considerable spending power, we’ve long been mystified by this omission.

So in late 2023 we conducted research into the digital preferences, needs and online activities of 1,296 over-65s in the UK.

This report details our findings, shining a light on the needs of older consumers in the digital environment. How easy do they find using websites and apps? What goods do they buy, and which services do they engage with online? 

It provides actionable insights to help organisations better engage with this sizeable demographic, and convert them into loyal, satisfied customers.

Download the Report

Addressing digital ageism
for the good of us all

There is a misconception that older people cannot or choose not to participate in the digital world. We believe we need to confront the degree of ageism behind this. Creators of technology often don’t really know, or want to think about, how they might be affected by ageing until they get there themselves.

The irony is that while digital technologies can empower and enable us to live more independently later in life, a lack of design for conditions such as deteriorating eyesight, poor hearing, memory issues and lack of fine motor skills can make using digital technologies more challenging as we age.

As ageing will affect us all to some degree, if companies fail to address the needs of older workers and consumers in their technology choices, it is to the detriment of us all.

Now is the time for retailers and service providers to prepare for an increasingly tech-literate generation of older consumers.

This report helps them to do that…

Summary of key report findings including: 12million over-65s in the UK, 63p in every pound will be spent by then by 2040, they currently spend £163 a month online on average, 60% of over-65s have good or more confidence level online, but 81% say they have frustrations, 11% of over-65s say they would spend more if websites and apps were easier to use

How the Research Report will help you

Our Research Report – A Golden Opportunity: Are you serving the needs of older online customers? – provides a detailed picture of how older people are using websites and apps in 2023/24, and how to unlock their untapped spending power by dealing with their accessibility frustrations.

Some key findings:

  • 81% of over-65s are frustrated by inaccessible websites and apps
  • 70% say retailers fail to consider age-related impairments such as poor eyesight and reduced fine motor skills that make using websites and apps more challenging
  • Older consumers in the UK spend an average of £163 per month online
  • But, more than one in 10 over-65s (equivalent to 1.38 million UK consumers*) said they would spend more online if websites and apps were easier for them to use

The report provides advice on what steps to take to prioritise the needs of older customers and achieve the benefits accessibility can bring.

Summary of 3 methods for creating websites and apps for older customers. 1: Acknowledge their issues by researching them. 2: Address the practical fixes that will improve the user experience for older customers in your products. 3: Adopt an age-positive mindset across your organisation by getting ageing people's needs thought about earlier in product creation.