Gay men and women are amongst the first groups to adopt new technology devices and online tools, making them a key demographic for online marketers, according to a new report from Forrester Research.
In a study of 60,000 US households, Forrester asked respondents their sexual orientation for the first time. The results show that gay people are generally wealthier, better educated and more tech savvy than heterosexuals.
They are also avid internet users – 80% of gay men and 76% of lesbians are online, compared with 70% of straight men and 69% of straight women. Gays are also one-third more likely to have broadband connections and have been online longer than heterosexuals: 29% of gay men and women have been online for more than seven years, versus 18% of heterosexuals.
“Gay men and women are tech-savvy consumers who use the internet and tech devices at significantly higher rates than their heterosexual counterparts for shopping, banking, entertainment, and community building,” said Jed Kolko, principal analyst at Forrester. “Marketers need to take a close look at the consumer behaviour of gay men and women to determine a strategy in targeting a group of consumers who have been consistently overlooked.”
The report does note that whilst any group of higher-income, more highly educated consumers will be earlier adopters of technology, significant differences in gays’ technology behaviour emerged after adjusting for online tenure and demographic differences. Gay men, for example, are more likely to own portable MP3 players and browser-enabled phones, and they are more than two times likelier to own a personal video recorder device like Tivo.
