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Growing old in cyberspace
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February 2, 2000: 6:30 a.m. ET
Senior citizens, long overlooked, are the latest target market on the Web
By Staff Writer Martha Slud
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - When June Jensen retired three years ago, she bought a computer and began surfing the Internet, hoping to get in touch with other people also dealing with post-retirement concerns.
But Jensen, 61, didn't find much out there -- a situation that she says has improved only slightly in the past few years, during an era that has seen cyberspace offerings on the whole grow by leaps and bounds.
"There are not a lot of user-friendly senior sites," said Jensen, of Osceola, Neb. She was able to track down a chat forum on the Web network Seniors.com, and now meets up with fellow members of her Internet community both online and at get-togethers in Las Vegas, Nashville, Tenn. and other spots around the country.
The Web "is very intimidating for someone just starting on the Internet," she said. "They're afraid that if they hit the wrong button it will explode or something."
As more and more senior citizens go online, Web developers and marketers are beginning to pay more attention to what they can offer older people, and how to bring Internet service to a population that has been among the slowest to embrace the computer.
While their numbers are still relatively small, online seniors are an attractive target from a marketing point of view for several reasons. Many retired people are logging a significant amount of time each day on the Web; they are a well-educated population; and they often have discretionary dollars to spend on travel, financial services and other growing sectors of electronic commerce.
"No one's really addressed seniors on the Internet, and really, why should they?" said William Belhumeur, president of San Francisco-based Seniors.com. "They've been attentive to the groups that have picked it up first; now's really the time to start picking up the later adopters."
'Slow to catch on'
Creators of senior-oriented Web sites say the Internet is a natural medium for older people who may be homebound or far away from their children or grandchildren. Some of the communication tools made possible by the Internet -- such as e-mail alerts to take medication or reminders about a doctor's appointment -- can be particularly helpful and vital for seniors.
Madison Avenue is "surprisingly slow to catch on," said Don Lowy, chief information officer of The Senior Network, a marketing firm. "There is a need for a dramatic increase in the amount of information available to seniors online."
Currently, about 12 percent of U.S. adults over 60 are Internet users, compared with 35 percent of the general adult population, according to a study by the New York-based Internet research firm CyberDialogue.
The biggest growth is occurring among younger seniors -- the 50- to 60-year age group. The number of people over 50 in the United States using the Internet jumped from 5 million in April 1997 to 15 million in October 1999, growth of 200 percent. That compares with usage growth of 100 percent for people ages 30 to 49 and 117 percent for the 18-to-29 age group, according to the data.
Meanwhile, about 74 percent of Web users over 50 go online daily, compared with 67 percent of all online adults, according to CyberDialogue, and a higher percentage of older Americans buy products in some key online sectors -- such as books and travel packages -- than the general population of Internet users at large.
Barriers to entry
But there still are numerous barriers to building up the senior market online, said Ekaterina Walsh, an analyst at Internet research firm Forrester Research. Some of the e-commerce categories considered most likely to appeal to seniors -- such as online purchases of prescription drugs or groceries -- are in fact the least likely sectors for new Web users to explore, she said.
"The problem is that with age, people become more pessimistic toward technology," she said. "It doesn't mean that it's not possible, but marketers who are looking at attracting this particular segment, should be very careful in emphasizing two things -- ease of use and value."
Several companies are trying to break through the technological barrier by bringing Web technology to retirement homes and other senior facilities, in hopes of providing easier, streamlined Internet access to older people.
One such company, Washington state-based LaConnor New Media Inc., plans to expand a test program in senior housing facilities that provides residents with an Internet appliance that connects to a TV. The TV screen then can be used as the computer monitor. Seniors also receive training in how to use the equipment.
"It's simple and easy to use," said Berry Brunk, LeConnor's chairman and CEO. "The television is an acceptable technology for seniors; it makes it a very simple process."
The service at present is free. The company hopes to convert it into a subscription-based system along the lines of America Online Inc. (AOL: Research, Estimates) that would be free or heavily subsidized for users -- with the retirement facilities picking up most of the cost, Brunk said.
The company has launched a new Web portal, SeniorCenter.com, consulting with seniors in the site's design. One problem hindering senior usage of the Internet is that few Web sites take into account graphic elements that may assist seniors . such as larger type or good color contrast, Brunk said.
Jensen said that design is a problem she has encountered with many Web sites. For many older Web users with cataracts or glaucoma, heavily cluttered sites with lots of flashing graphics are difficult to read, she said.
"A lot of the sites on the Internet are put together with the 18-to-49-year-old in mind -- type is squeezed; there's no concern for color contrast," said Lowy, of The Senior Network.
The Senior Network has worked with companies such as pharmaceutical makers Novartis and Merck & Co. (MRK: Research, Estimates), as well as Nabisco and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG: Research, Estimates), to make their sites more accessible to mature Web users.
Many senior citizens also get frustrated when sites don't load quickly enough, or when sites are difficult to navigate.
"They don't want to have to figure out how to use the site," said Andrew Egan, president of Adventura Publishing, which operates Senior-Citizen.com. "It has to be very clear. They're not interested in complicating their lives more than they have to."
Another concern is that older people could be victims of online fraud by unscrupulous salespeople and con artists offering get-rich-quick schemes or dubious medical treatments over the Web. Walsh, of Forrester Research, says that marketers would be smart to target low-risk, low-cost products at seniors such as books, music and toys for grandchildren.
Egan predicted that senior citizen offerings on the Web are going to mushroom as older people get more comfortable going on the Internet.
"I think you're going to see a lot of senior Web sites coming online," he said. "A lot of people are trying to capitalize on it." 
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