Online spending by 60-somethings jumps 2.5 times over 2 years

The consumption of digital content among those in their 60s or more has jumped by 2.5 times over the past two years on the back of the increasing spending on non-contact services during the pandemic. The amount of spending among such older groups increased fast on all fronts from mobile shopping, food deliver apps to OTT services.

The Big Data Research Institute under Shinhan Card announced their analysis Thursday from the data gathered on the digital consumption patterns of its individual subscribers. According to their data, the number of credit card payments in all online businesses rose by 71% in 2021 compared to the pre-pandemic period of 2019. The types of business include online shopping, delivery apps, fintech payments, and OTT providers.

Notably, the increase of online spending was more pronounced in older age groups. The number of payments among those in their 60s or more soared 142% over two years, with that of the 50s shooting up by 110%, followed by the consumers in their 40s (84%), 30s (63%), and 20s (45%). Experts say the 50s and 60s, who were once marginalized, have fast adjusted to the changing trend of online spending after the outbreak of Covid-19.

By specific category, the food delivery apps and the payment of fresh groceries delivery services have made a remarkable growth. The share of payments of delivery apps among the 50s shot up from 5% in 2019 to 9% in 2021. Their share in fresh groceries delivery services has also jumped from 14% to 21%.

The robust spending among those in their 50s or older was also seen in streaming services such as Netflix. The share of use in the OTT services among those in their 20s and 30s fell from 73% in 2019 to 65% last year, but that among the 50s or more increased from 9% to 13%. The share of payments in music streaming services by 50 somethings or older has also surged from 7% to 11%.


1am@donga.com