Jo Peters spent 20 years in international agencies working for brands such as Nike and Playstation. Having set up her trend consultancy, Jo volunteered with Samaritans. In 2020, she trained as a coach with the Co-Active Training Institute, helping clients make positive changes in their professional and personal lives. Jo recently studied with Climate Change Coaches, partnering with those wanting to take action on this vital systemic issue. Together with writing on consumer trends and design, Jo loves the big outdoors, from the beach in Shoreham-by-Sea where she lives to MTB on the South Downs.

While the pandemic accelerated the usage of digital platforms, many brands and marketers focused their attention on Gen Yers and Zers, often ignoring older, wealthier cohorts who’ve traditionally been slower to embrace technology. However, 64% of Americans over 55 surveyed around the start of the outbreak said they’d used a new technology to stay in touch with family members. 

Burlington Free Press

 This rapid uptake is significant given the consumer power that Boomers wield. Though they make up just one in six Americans, they hold more than half of the nation’s household wealth and, according to figures from 2019, spend $548.1 billion per year – more than any other generation. 

Marketing Charts

As well as boosting their adoption of digital tools, COVID-19 prompted many Boomers to reconsider how they use their time, with four out of five saying they’d rather retire at 65 and live modestly than work until 75 and earn a bigger pension. In turn, more Boomers retired in 2020 than at any time in the previous decade. 

Yahoo

 Social media has helped fill some of the resulting downtime, with Pew reporting that the proportion of 50- to 64-year-olds who use YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Whatsapp was on par with Gen Zers and Yers in 2021, even if they didn’t spend as much time on those platforms. 

Pew Research Center

 hailed the fact that Boomers and older adults embraced the site as creators in 2020.

Though they might not be digital natives, it’s worth remembering that many Boomers grew up with gaming – whether that was at arcades, with the first generation of home consoles, or buying systems for their kids. Research published by Newzoo suggests that 42% of Boomers now play video games on PCs, consoles, or cellphones, with gaming taking up around 10% of their leisure time. 

Esports News UK

 This hints at the extent to which tech will play a vital role in Boomers’ lives post-pandemic – from connecting with colleagues and family to registering for vaccines and paying for all manner of goods. So, how can brands engage with them in digital spaces?

Boomers are digital consumers and creators

Far from merely surfing the web for news, Boomers are engaging with social media as browsers, users, and creators. Nearly three-quarters (73%) use these channels to stay connected with friends and family, 53% use them to ‘kill time’, and 40% view them as an essential part of their lives. 

Sprout Social

 And they’re not only using these platforms to message their loved ones and access information – 48% engage with brands via social media and two-thirds of Boomers’ 2021 holiday shopping decisions were expected to be influenced by Facebook. 

NonProfit PRO

McKinsey & Company

While older cohorts are usually slower to join new platforms, 11% of TikTok users in the US are over 50, and some of the most popular topics on the app demonstrate its broad appeal. 

Statista

 have been viewed more than 279 billion times. 

Social Media Today

 ​​Originally a TV commercial producer, 60-year-old 

 has gained over half a million followers on the platform, telling the AARP that Tiktok “defies all the age boundaries.” She has created an additional platform offering 17 tutorial videos for a $15 subscription, providing tips on how to add stickers to posts and highlighting the benefits of using a ring light. Meanwhile, reality TV star 

 points out that Tiktok has such wide appeal “not only because the content on the platform has diversified to include something for everyone now, but most importantly because of its discovery algorithm.” 

AARP

​​Dan Calladine, the head of media futures at Dentsu International, says that “the [TikTok] juggernaut continues, showing that it wasn’t just a lockdown craze. TikTok has succeeded by creating something that is distinctly different, both in content and navigation, and generally more uplifting and positive than other algorithmic feeds.” 

Interview with Dan Calladine conducted by the author

 Users of any age are entertained by content as diverse as gardening, knitting, cooking, and sport, enabling them to make social connections via their individual interests.

Boomers are eager for social gaming moments

According to GWI, the number of 55- to 64-year-olds playing video games increased by 32% between 2018 and 2020. The hobby has become especially important to grandparents (up 28% between 2018 and 2020) and people with three or more kids (18%), demonstrating its role in bringing families together. 

 However, as noted by 50-something journalist Noelle Schuck, “I was surprised and more than a little disappointed to find there aren’t a lot of games targeted to people my age.” 

Kim Komando

, explains that Boomers grew up with arcades and then PC games, which “presented more opportunities for complex, longer gaming experiences, such as platform, adventure, and simulation.” 

Interview with Phill Hunt conducted by the author

Newzoo’s research suggests that 53% of Boomer gamers are women – the highest share of any generation – further debunking the idea that games are just for Gen Z males. 

 ​​“I think games have always been important for this generation, and maybe the bigger story is now the medium has changed,” says Calladine. ​​“Newspapers always featured 'games' like crosswords and other puzzles, which fulfilled the same need for relaxation or a mental challenge away from the more traditional written content... Boomers are only moving this sort of activity to a new device, particularly mobile phones.” 

Retired doctor Carol Price plays World of Warcraft and other MMO games, emphasizing how they relieve loneliness and offer a sense of community. “It might take us a bit longer to become proficient, but does that really matter? Give us a chance to make our mark. We are likely to prefer the slower build games, the puzzle-based games and lore-rich adventures rather than the super-fast-paced shoot-outs,” she writes. “Game developers, I would just like to say to you – older players exist, not in vast numbers yet when compared to the teenagers and students, but we are becoming a significant force... Don’t forget about us, especially that army of older women who are turning to technology to spend their leisure time.” 

Crow's Feet | Medium

Meta’s VR playscape Horizon Worlds aims to give people the ability to enter and explore worlds that Facebook and its beta creators have built. There are games offering something “for every taste and mood,” according to VRScout, from laser tag game ArenaClash to puzzles such as Ice Cream Frenzy to meditative digital worlds. 

VRScout

 ​​Hunt says that games such as the Star Wars series on the Oculus Quest and other adventure titles may suit Boomers: “I’ve seen how this age group seems to be rather delighted by VR – most probably as this is something they have dreamed of for a long time.” 

Over-50s have been quick to adopt digital tools related to health and wellness, with the pandemic further fueling their interest. Indeed, 41% of Americans said they downloaded a fitness app for the first time during pandemic lockdowns in 2020. 

MarketWatch

 was one of several apps to have benefitted from the pandemic exercise boom, recording a 28% increase in weekly outdoor activities in the US between March and April 2020. This was evident across generations, with American women aged 60-plus increasing their exercise by 41% in 2020 compared to 2019. 

Strava

 is a fitness and wellness app aimed squarely at over-50s. It provides accessible daily tasks, including nutritional tips and video workouts, all tailored to the user and delivered by an experienced coach. Family members can be looped into their relatives’ achievements to encourage them, introducing an important networking element.

Beyond fitness apps, VR offers older people who are shielding the opportunity to exercise in the safety of their homes, particularly during the winter months. Hunt says that “games like 

 interest Boomers. The chance of getting fit while game playing is a great excuse to drive usage.” 

, which has sold over four million copies, requires players to strike flying blocks in time to a soundtrack. At an age when people recognize they need to work harder to stay healthy, VR ‘exer-gaming’ combines fun with fitness and social interaction.

Research from the AARP suggests that 56% of 50- to 80-year-olds have trouble sleeping and 49% experience anxiety. Most of those surveyed stated that the pandemic has had an impact on their mental health and has given them concerns about the future, so it’s unsurprising that over a quarter have turned to meditation or praying to help their wellbeing. 

 With most healthcare provision having moved online (at least partly) since the initial outbreak, increasingly tech-savvy Boomers have shown an interest in telehealth, with Mobiquity reporting a 469% uplift in Boomers using telemedicine and teledentistry. 

Mobiquity

 Meanwhile, gaming tech has been shown to assist in the treatment of conditions 

 and dementia, and social gaming is providing far-reaching therapeutic solutions for those at this life stage.

For brands looking to connect with Boomers digitally, Calladine suggests that the “two main opportunities are authenticity and subtlety. Be authentic in telling your brand's story, including trust, reliability, and sustainability. Be subtle in using design (including easily readable fonts), be clear in product descriptions, and use older (but not ancient) characters in pictures.” He points to 

 as one tech brand doing it right, noting that it “subtly features riders in their 40s and older in their ads.” 

 Boomers are 22% more likely than those aged 16-57 to say they worry about how companies use their data, and of the 22% who use ad blockers, two-thirds say there are too many ads and half that the ads aren’t relevant, so there’s clearly a challenge for brands looking to win favor with Boomer consumers. 

 “I’d recommend messaging that celebrates Boomers’ proud past, recognizes their meaningful and purposeful present, and anticipates their still relevant future,” says Dr. Lawrence Samuel, the founder of Age Friendly Consulting. 

Canvas8

Online communities provide a vital source of connection

Pandemic-related loneliness drove people across generations to online communities, and while most of the outside world has reopened, many Boomers may still prefer to use digital channels to connect with loved ones and brands going forward. In the UK, 

 to provide content in both print and web formats, addressing the omnichannel consumption habits of Boomers and older adults. Several luxury fashion brands, meanwhile, have identified gaming as a way to engage older, wealthy consumers. For example, Ferragamo launched online game 

, while Gucci, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton have all recognized the potential of this medium to create new touchpoints with mature gamers. And British charity Age UK has worked with Xbox on the ReBoxing campaign, encouraging gamers who are upgrading to gift their consoles to older people in their lives, helping to develop their digital literacy while alleviating loneliness. 

Xbox

​​Developer Anthony Pecorella believes that Boomers represent an untapped market for VR, particularly since the launch of Quest 2, which has reduced the barrier to entry in terms of cost and ease of set-up. Until a few years ago, there weren’t any games or apps relevant for older players, but “from 

, there are premium, polished, and highly accessible games that can delight all ages, and can especially appeal to the Baby Boomer demo.” 

Gasket Case

 Meta’s Horizon Worlds offers relaxation and meditation, both of which will appeal across generations, though perhaps more so to Facebook-friendly Boomers. Meanwhile, Oculus’s Alcove offers the opportunity to “play checkers with family members, engage in trivia and logic games, or ride a hot air balloon over the Swiss Alps, among other things.” 

 The metaverse also holds promise, with a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that Boomers are increasingly interested in Web3 and investing in virtual real estate through cryptocurrency. Immersive e-commerce environments such as an entirely digital shopping mall or street might just be the new playgrounds for tech-savvy boomers with cash to spare. 

Wall Street Journal | YouTube

, app developers working in the mobile, VR, and XR space with clients including Audi, Zoopla, Quilter Cheviot, and Mesmerise. He has been working in tech space since 1993. As part of the Founders Institute Program, he also mentors start-ups.

Dan Calladine is the head of media futures at Dentsu International, based in London. He has worked in media and marketing for over 25 years. Having been with Dentsu for over 15 years, he was the instigator of their popular annual trends report.

Boomers (born 1947-1966)

United States

Travel and Leisure

Technology

Media and Entertainment

Communications

Social networking

Gaming

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