A little tolerance for the younger generation, please: That brat walking just ahead of you staring obsessively at her cell phone may be accessing your Web site or e-mail messages. People in this age group are the most comfortable using their phones to receive information, and as they age and gain wealth, this channel will become increasingly important for marketing as well.
Phones and personal digital assistants are increasingly wired for online information or commerce: 45% of Generation Y-ers (18-26-year-olds) with a mobile phone use Web-enabled versions, compared with 8% of older Baby Boomers (those between 51 and 61). Overall 22% of all households have at least one Web-enabled phone, according to a Forrester's study.
In fact, such phones boasted the youngest average age of users – 40 – among 21 devices, compared with 41 for MP3 players, 42 for handheld video games and camera phones, and a positively doddering 50 for in-car global positioning systems.
For now, Gen Y uses its Web-enabled mobile phone more as a toy, or source of entertainment, than as an information or commerce tool. This group is most likely to use them to download or stream video or music files, send or receive text messages, play games, send or receive pictures or research entertainment.
But it is the older generations, particularly seniors, who are most likely to access the Web via their phones to purchase event tickets, check financial accounts or stock quotes or send or research products for purchase. The embrace of these functions via the phone reflects the wealth that correlates with their age.
Forrester based its findings on mail surveys of 66,707 households in North America. The survey was conducted between January and February of this year by NFO Research.
