Internet use among seniors is continuing to grow across Europe and the US. In the US and UK, more than half of all seniors have accessed the Internet. Many seniors are taking an active interest in looking after their health, with up to 40% having looked for health information in the last 12 months. Furthermore, seniors are far more likely to visit a physician than younger age groups.
High levels of Internet access among the current generation of 35-54 year olds will drive Internet levels among seniors over the coming decades. Among seniors who are already using the Internet, around 50% are online for at least one hour per week for personal reasons such as emailing; in the US this figure increases significantly to 68% among online seniors.
The booming senior population will require long-term healthcare treatments
With average life expectancy rates in Europe and the US set to increase by up to two years over the next 20 years, and with the overall senior populations forecast to rise by as much as 40% over the same period, healthcare companies are gearing their marketing efforts towards the lucrative seniors market.
The strong relationship between age and the prevalence of diseases such as hypertension and type II diabetes, together with the increased risk of seniors developing other conditions, mean that seniors have a wide and growing range of information needs. Healthcare companies have the potential to forge long-term relationships with seniors in managing their healthcare requirements.
Many seniors taking online heath information with them when visiting the doctor
Seniors visit a doctor more frequently than younger generations. Research shows that the average number of doctor visits per year in the US increases steadily with age from just two per year among 15-24 year olds to over six per year in the over 75 age group.
The opportunity for senior patients to take an active role in their own health management is reflected in the numbers who are already asking their doctor about symptoms or treatment information for a disease because of something they have read on the Internet. In the UK, more than 25% of online seniors who are interested in healthcare information have discussed information found on the Internet with their doctor.
Seniors are interested in living a healthy lifestyle
Among those seniors who have looked for health information in the last 12 months, over half are interested in information about living a healthy lifestyle. While interaction with a doctor remains the preferred channel for collecting health information among offline seniors, health information websites now rank highly among online seniors as a popular source of information.
Pharmaceutical companies are targeting online seniors
The increasing life expectancy rates and booming senior population numbers in the US and Europe combine to make senior consumers a highly desirable marketing group for healthcare companies. There are already numerous websites aimed at providing the senior population with healthcare information. The aim of the majority of these websites, in particular those provided by pharmaceutical companies, is to build a relationship with consumers, with the intention of raising awareness and creating a strong brand presence.
If you enjoyed this article, you may be interested in Datamonitor’s brief, Targeting Seniors: Strategies to Promote Online Marketing Relationships in Healthcare, which examines the opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to influence physician prescribing through relationships developed online with seniors.
