Empty Nesters, Big Online Spenders

Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, Inc. said in a statement, "The media habits of the affluent empty nesters are dominated by newspapers and the Internet."

The Media Audit surveyed 17 million empty nesters in 87 markets and found that 27% spend an hour or more reading newspapers each day, 38% spend more than 400 minutes online each week. 35% made at least 5 purchases online and another 20% made at least 12 online purchases in the past year.

The empty-nesters in this study are 45 or older and very affluent.

"The empty nesters are another example of the enormous impact the presence or absence of children has on almost all household expenditures," according to Jordan.

In younger households, children are the big influencers. They determine what food is purchased, which clothing items and can even influence vehicle and consumer electronics purchases. This study indicates another area ripe for behavioral targeting. For online marketers, this new age group is comfortable online and spends more than their same-age counterparts. By behaviorally targeting specific age groups according to their likes and dislikes is a great way to increase online revenue and build customer loyalty.

Tags: behavioral targeting, online marketing, online spending