If lockdowns taught us one thing, it was the frustration in guiding your parents on how to use Zoom for the weekly check-in. If that milestone was reached, then the common “you are on mute, Mum” would happen on several occasions.
Brands targeting Gen X are hesitant about the seniors adopting to live video chat, but with the majority of online seniors spending at least six hours a day online, we are entering the era of the digital-savvy senior.
The impact seniors have on retail and eCommerce
Once the group that shopped online the least, is now the fasting growing group across eCommerce shoppers, with a 49% increase in transactions compared to 2020. COVID-19 served as a catalyst to reshape digital habits among seniors and it is here to stay.
A report from Think with Google shows 70% of respondents will “spend the same amount or more time online once they’re no longer concerned about the pandemic”.
The digital transition has opened new opportunities for eCommerce brands to engage with the now profound digital-savvy senior. In the UK, 36% of shoppers aged 55 and over said they shop online for clothes in 6 months time, up from 19% before the pandemic.
The beauty sector shares a similar trajectory with 42% saying they read online customer views, 69% accessing digital platforms to search for products and 77% making an online purchase in the past six months.
Now it’s time to seek your audience elsewhere
Traditionally, marketers have relied on TV and print to target older audiences. The swap from TV to YouTube is encouraging brands to reshape their senior marketing strategy. EMarketer predicts Baby Boomers (57-75-year-olds) will have watched 5.7% less TV in 2021 compared to 2020. This will continue to decline in 2022.
However, seniors’ love for YouTube has increased 10% from May 2020 to May 2021.
YouTube then plays a pivotal role in increasing brand awareness among the older generation and is a channel to tap into for product discovery.
For high-ticket audiences, another way to engage with the elder demographic is through one to one video.
Video chat is becoming the channel of choice
The biggest winner of 2021 in the comms world was video. In the Vonage Global Customer Engagement Report 2021, ¾ respondents video chat with friends and family. It echos the 91% of seniors switching to digital to stay in touch with loved ones.
There has also been a 300% growth in consumers choosing video chat as the number one channel for talking to businesses.
For well-established channels such as messaging and phone calls, they in fact fell below video – which has only really gained prominence since 2020.
How can video chat make your customer journey more effective?
Vonage shared how consumers want to connect with retail and eCommerce. Below are the findings:
Source: Vonage Global Customer Engagement Report 2021
Shopping for an expensive or specialised item with the help of a retail sales advisor
Channel
Voice call – 28%
Messaging (non-SMS) – 17%
Choice of any channel – 17%
Receiving and replying to order updates and tracking deliveries
Messaging (non-SMS) – 24%
SMS – 23%
Voice call – 28%
Chatting with a buyer or seller to look at an item or organise the sale
Voice call – 28%
Messaging (non-SMS)
Choice of any channel (15%)
How does Confer With’s video chat support accessibility with seniors?
Firstly, Confer With’s one to one video call will share the same experience across devices and will render differently depending on what is being used.
Once a customer connects to an expert, they can sit back while the expert shares product images, descriptions and share alternative products. The expert can even add items into the virtual shared basket.
While the Confer With platforms invites a collaborative experience where the customer can select images and add items to the checkout, the expert is very much in control of the call.
Learn more about how you can scale video and reach new digital-savvy customers by booking a 10-minute call in our calendar.
