Advertisers should stop focusing so much on age when targeting ‘digital natives’, and instead take into consideration factors such as economic clout and cultural characteristics, according to Kantar Media.
A new study into both the online and offline behaviour and characteristics of consumers disproves that 15-24 year olds are “true digital natives,” and are no more likely than other age groups to participate in a variety of key digital behaviours.
The TGI Clickstream analysis found that the best predictor of pioneering digital behaviour is not age but the consumer’s “fundamental amount and mix of economic and cultural capital.”
According to Kantar, these provide a far better predictor of digital behaviour, and should allow marketers to better target consumers.
When it comes to buying holidays or travel online, the data reveals that digital natives are 22% less likely to do so than the average internet user. Conversely, adults aged 35-64 with large amounts of cultural and economic capital – what the report’s authors call ‘Social DNA’ – are 65% more likely than the average internet user to make such purchases online.
The report states that this is not simply driven by the older group enjoying higher financial clout. The same 35-64 year old group with a strong bias only towards high cultural, rather than economic, capital is still 43% more likely to buy holidays and travel online than the average internet user.
The same pattern can be seen when it comes to the online purchase of various goods and services. Digital natives are only 8% more likely than the average internet user to buy music or videos online, whereas 35-64 year olds with high Social DNA are 52% more likely than the average to do so.
Commenting on the findings, Kantar Media’s director of TGI insights and integration, said: “It is crucial that marketers recognise that the truly valuable digital consumers are not simply young adults, or they are likely to see little return on their targeting efforts.
“To truly identify and leverage those consumers who are most engaged with digital and particularly lucrative in a digital environment, it is necessary to get away from notions of age and instead consider the key drivers dictating how consumers make decisions.”
