Gone are the days where you need to set up an email for grandpa. 

Today, boomers are online and fully digital and fully spending. However, they are playing by slightly different rules than younger shoppers.

If your marketing strategy hasn’t caught up, you might be missing the wealthiest, most pragmatic audience on the internet. 

Let’s check some data we found real quick.

The great digital migration is over

The 55-64 crowd just crossed the digital Rubicon: 

In 2023, this age group hit a milestone: 52.66% of their activity is now online, overtaking offline for the first time ever. By 2025, that jumps to 55.6%.

Rewind to 2013-2015, when today’s 55-64 year-olds were in the 45-54 bracket, and only 30-34% were online. A seismic shift, isn’t it?

What this means: Forget “grandma figured out Facebook.” Boomers are digitally fluent, financially loaded, and living online. 

Stop treating digital like a young person’s game. If your media plan still treats Boomers as a “traditional media” audience, you’re leaving money on the table. 

Update your personas. They’re not watching cable. They’re streaming, shopping, and scrolling.

Boomers and AI: a slow embrace

Everyone’s hyping AI, but boomers are clicking “maybe later.”

Check it out:

When it comes to using AI assistants or ChatGPT for shopping:

• Gen Z: 57%
• Millennials: 48%
• Gen X: 30%
• Boomers: 16%

There’s a cliff between Gen Z and boomers.

What this means: Boomers mastered the internet: email, Amazon, Google. But AI feels like a parlor trick they didn’t ask for. It’s unproven, impersonal, and honestly? A little sus.

What you should do: Build your funnel around chatbots? Cool. 

Now build a parallel track for Boomers. Give them a phone number, a human chat option, or a dead-simple FAQ. They’ll buy. Just not from a “robot”.

How are elderly using social media

Social media research? Not really their thing

We all know social media is great for cat videos and arguing with strangers. 

But is it a serious hub for product research?

Social platforms are where younger shoppers do their homework. Boomers? Not so much.

• Millennials (age 26-41) are the top researchers, with 16% using socials for this purpose.
• Gen Z (age 18-25) is right behind at 14%.
• Boomers (age 58 and over), however, are at the bottom of the pack, with only 9% using social media for product research.

Our take: Boomers didn’t grow up trusting their news feed for facts. They trust Google, review sites, and your actual website. TikTok is for videos of dogs, not due diligence.

Make your website the hero: Your Instagram carousel isn’t reaching boomers in research mode. Invest in killer SEO, detailed product pages, and legit third-party reviews.  

Social commerce? Even less interested.

If they’re not researching on social, it’s hard to imagine boomers buying there.

But let’s see what the chart says:

You guessed it. The data on social commerce is a steep, downward staircase by generation.

• Gen Z (18-26) is all in, with 53% buying products on social media.
• Millennials (27-42) are also huge fans, at 45%.
• Then, the interest gets cut in half: Gen X (43-58) drops to 31%, and Boomers (59-77) fall off a cliff to just 13%.

The Crew’s Take: This is all about friction and established habits. Boomers are very comfortable buying online (as we saw in chart 1), but on their terms—which means a secure, dedicated e-commerce site, not a pop-up shop in their feed.

We’ve learned that boomers are comfortable shopping online. But this tells us that doesn’t count their feed. They want a proper checkout, not a pop-up shop between vacation photos. 

For them, social commerce feels sketchy.

What you can do: Forget transactions and use socials for awareness first. Drive Boomers to your website where they feel safe and let them buy on their turf. Not TikTok’s.

Influencers? Please…

In a world of sponsored posts and “link in bio,” does the influencer economy hold any sway over the elders? 

Let’s check:

Interesting. Gen Z will buy anything a creator tells them to. But boomers would rather trust a Magic 8-Ball.

• Gen Z (18-24) is the most-influenced group at 45%.
• Millennials (25-40) are also significantly swayed at 33%.
• The overall average is 24%.
• Boomers (57+), on the other hand, are almost completely immune, with only 9% saying they’ve made an influencer-driven purchase.

To boomers, “influencer” translates to “paid actor with nice teeth.” The title “influencer” holds no inherent authority for them so try to focus on credentials, not clout.

What you should do: Definitely don’t go the “trendy creators” route. If you want to use a “face” to reach Boomers, opt for established experts, accredited professionals, or genuine, high-quality customer testimonials. 

For this audience, authority trumps celebrity every time.

What gets boomers to buy?

So, Boomers are online. But what gets them to open their wallets in the digital world? 

Spoiler: It’s not the bells and whistles; it’s the nuts and bolts.

Boomers don’t want the experience. They want the thing. Fast.

Top motivations for Boomers shopping online:

• Fast or free delivery is the undisputed champion, driving 68% of Boomers to purchase.
• This is followed by pure convenience of online ordering (60%) and the ability to shop at any time (49%).
• Value is also key, with large product selection (43%) and lower prices (41%) rounding out the top five.
• Meanwhile, the things marketers often obsess over—like personalized offers (10%), social media ads (4%), and in-app social shopping (1%)—are at the absolute bottom of the list.

Boomers are pragmatic. They’ve embraced e-commerce for its core utility. It saves time, offers value, and it’s convenient.  

So what should you do? Make “FREE SHIPPING” the biggest thing on your site. Not your logo. Not your tagline. Free. Shipping. It’s your #1 boomer conversion lever.

What stops boomers from shopping?

Every superhero has their kryptonite. For the Boomer shopper, it’s “Gotcha!” fees and broken promises. 

This isn’t a demographic that tolerates friction well, especially when it costs them:

If “free shipping” is what they love, “surprise shipping” is what they hate. 

The barriers to purchase are a near-perfect mirror image of their drivers.

• High shipping costs are the number one deal-breaker, stopping 30% of Boomers from buying.
• They’re also trying to be frugal, with 22% stating “I am saving money” as a barrier.
• Transparency is a massive issue. Unexpected extra costs or fees (20%) and negative reviews (20%) are tied for the third-biggest barrier.
• Clarity is also crucial, with 17% citing uncertainty about product selection (size, version, etc.) as a reason to bail.

The Crew’s Take: Boomers hate gotchas. A hidden $10 fee feels like you lied to them. And if they feel tricked? You’ve lost a customer for life. 

Actionable tip: Be radically transparent with your pricing. Show the full price, including shipping, as early as humanly possible. 

One bad surprise will lose you far more sales than one good perk will win.

How to win a boomer over?

We know their motivations (convenience) and their turn-offs (fees). 

But we also know that boomers are loyal if you give them a reason. That reason is usually points:

This chart shows exactly how Boomers behave as savvy shoppers. They are methodical and looking for a tangible reward for their business.

• Loyalty programs are the top incentive, with 45% of Boomers using them to collect points.
• They are avid deal-hunters, with 37% regularly using vouchers or discount codes.
• They are also planners. Many create wish lists or save items for later (29%) and use price comparison sites (27%) before they commit.
• This reinforces earlier data: using AI for search (12%) and purchasing on social media (16%) are low on their behavior list.

Boomers are deal-hunters with patience. They’ll comparison shop, clip coupons, and rack up points. They usually have time and they’re super strategic.

Launch a straightforward loyalty program. Make earning and redeeming points stupid easy. Promote discount codes like your life depends on it. This is how you keep them.

Thrifting? Not a boomer thing.

The kids are all right… with second-hand clothes and Gen Z is saving hundreds on vintage finds. Boomers are buying new.

Average monthly savings from thrifting:

The data on thrifting savings shows a massive generational divide. This isn’t a small gap; it’s a chasm.

• Gen Z leads the pack, saving an average of $289 per month by thrifting.
• Millennials ($160) and Gen X ($134) are also active participants in the second-hand market.
• Boomers, however, are barely participating. They save an average of only $41 per month from thrifting, nearly seven times less than Gen Z.

Note this: Boomers grew up in the golden age of retail. “New” was the goal, not the compromise.

Pre-loved doesn’t hit the same when you remember when it was just called “used.”

What you should do: If sustainability is your brand’s whole thing, don’t lead with it for Boomers. Talk quality, durability, and craftsmanship. Emphasize why buying new is worth it.

Actionable tip: If your brand’s core value proposition is ‘sustainability’ via a resale or pre-loved program, don’t expect it to resonate with Boomers. For them, focus your messaging on quality, durability, and the value of buying new.

Boomers are susceptible to scam, be transparent

As Boomers have confidently moved online, they’ve unfortunately become a prime target for the web’s worst actors. 

This fact should fundamentally change how you market to them:

The 2024 data on financial scams or fraud is sobering. Percentage who encountered financial scams in 2024:

• Boomers: 39%
• Gen X: 34%
• Millennials: 32%
• Gen Z: 31%

This vulnerability explains everything we’ve seen. Their skepticism of AI, their low adoption of social commerce, and their absolute hatred of hidden fees. They are on high alert.

Know this: Every unclear policy, vague description, or “act now!” button reads as a red flag. Boomers are vigilant because they have to be. For them, skepticism means survival.

Actionable tip: Earn trust like your business depends on it (because it does).

Show trust badges. Display your phone number prominently. Offer PayPal or other secure payment options. Make returns brain-dead simple. Your site should feel like Helm’s Deep. 

Free shipping and zero “bee-es,” that’s the boomer playbook

Good news: Boomers are online, they’re shopping, and they’ve got money. 

But they’re playing by different rules. They don’t want AI, influencers, or social commerce. They want speed, clarity, and no games or bait-and-switches.

Stop marketing to who you think they are. 

Start marketing to who they actually are: pragmatic, loyal, fraud-wary digital shoppers who will reward you handsomely if you just make it easy and trustworthy.

Give them free shipping, clear pricing, and a phone number. That’s it. That’s the strategy.