Chargebacks911® COO’s Latest Guest Feature for PaymentsSource
In her latest feature for PaymentsSource, Chargebacks911 COO Monica Eaton looks at the older consumers often overlooked by marketers, and explains why they may present some underrecognized opportunities.
PaymentsSource is one of the leading resources for payments industry professionals around the world. As a highly-sought-after contributor to top industry publications, Monica was happy to offer her take on this topic.
Targeting Older Consumers
Targeting younger, trendsetting consumers is a long-standing aim for marketers. This hyper-focus on the under-35 subset overlooks a few key points, though, such as that younger consumers have limited disposable income, while those over-50 tend to have a lot. Not only that, but older shoppers are much more tech-savvy than most seem to realize.
As Monica explains in the post, roughly 91% of older shoppers currently own a computer. 75% own a smartphone, and nearly half own a smart TV. All totaled, they will spend nearly $84 billion on tech products by 2030. Overlooking this lucrative block of shoppers is a terrible mistake.
“So, there’s no concern about whether it’s possible; the buyers are there,” Monica explains. “The key is simply to balance customer lifetime value against your cost of acquisition.”
Just as with any age group, attracting older and more affluent buyers is all a balancing act. Merchants need to emphasize trust, personalization, and reduced friction, without cutting key barriers.
“You can manage to retain older buyers through a combination of an active and trustworthy presentation, plus occasional deals and special offers to make individual buyers feel valued,” she says. “Opening to a wider customer base is not without drawbacks, though. Mainly, you will necessarily expose yourself to more risk.”
