Apple’s iPad: The silver surfer generation
A week after Apple released the iPad 2, research reveals that the iPad is starting to appeal to a new generation – the over 55’s.
The typical iPad owner profile was male, aged between 25-44, ABC1. However, the tablet device’s appeal is reaching a wider audience – female ownership is on the rise and 28% of iPad owners are now over 55 (up 8 percentage points since August 2010), according to YouGov.
Also, research shows that potential iPad owners are more likely to be female and are more likely to be in the over 55 age group, which represents an interesting opportunity for traditional UK media brands looking to reach the older demographic.
A recent focus group run by the Telegraph Media Group also found that the iPad is a a popular choice among older consumers, who like to immerse themselves in digital content, seeing it as ‘my time’. The findings discovered that the iPad is seen as an individual device, rather than something shared among families – and as such some households have multiple iPads or tablet devices.
In the group, some respondents said they were obsessed with the iPad, while others said that reading on the iPad is akin to reading a newspaper.
Among iPad owners, the most popular activity is surfing the internet, with viewing documents in a close second. However, when it comes to downloadable content purchased, YouGov research found that eBooks were a popular choice.
OnePoll research shows that more people aged over 55 own e-readers than the younger generation. 6% of readers in the over 55 category – around 500,000 people – own a digital device to consume literature (compared to 5% of those in the 18-24 year old bracket).
Another 18% of the over 55’s surveyed said they plan to invest in a e-reader in the next 12 months, according to OnePoll.
William Higham, managing director of OnePoll, said: “The over-50s are a vital part of any publisher’s audience. They are typically heavy book-readers and until now they were staunchly traditional in their attitudes to reading. But these new figures show they are beginning to embrace electronic books.”
The results also revealed that 95% of people in the older age category use the internet for shopping, with books ranking as the most popular purchase.
According to OnePoll, Amazon’s Kindle is the most popular device among the older generation, with Apple’s iPad in second place.
It is no surprise the iPad is appealing to the older generation – research by the British Population Survey shows that more people over the age of 55 use the internet now than people under 25.
The older generation is thought to dominate search and shopping – with over 55’s shopping online for every two under 25’s. And in 2010, the fastest growing group accessing the net was the over 65 age group – now representing over one in ten British users.
However, Mike Hare, research director for the BPS, warned that “even though ‘Silver Surfers’ are more likely to shop online, they are 70% more likely to find internet advertising unacceptable.”
Future Foundation research shows that the 55+ user-base download and use information and news apps.
Looking at all respondents, Future Foundation’s research also found that 43% of iPad users use their device for 10+ hours a week (15% for 20+ hours); 62% never or rarely take it out of the house; iPad users prefer to read newspapers on their iPad (30% do) compared to on a computer (27% do) or print (23% prefer to read a paper copy); 33% of iPad users still name their laptop as their main entertainment device (24% say it’s their iPad – while phones and TVs rank 4th and 5th).
The iPad generation is not likely to slow any time soon, and while it is exciting for brands aiming at the 20 somethings, there is also a real opportunity to target the over 55’s.