A new Leger Marketing study has found that the percentage of individuals aged 30+ who are habitually online is not only continuing to rise, it has actually surpassed that of younger demographics (13-30). Four in five of the over-30 respondents the report dubbed ‘Bandwidth Boomers’ say their experiences interacting with people online have been positive, including shopping on eBay, participating in blogs or discussion boards or meeting people.
Fully 73% of Canadians aged 30 and over rely on the Internet to search for local news and products to buy within their communities. In fact, 70% of respondents now cite the Internet as their resource of choice for finding local services, such as handymen or domestic help. The vast majority (89%) cited convenience, ease of use and variety of goods they find online as reasons for turning to the Internet.
Regional differences unearthed by the survey include the facts that: British Columbians are the most active users of community websites: Ontarians cite the highest rate of searches for products to buy online; Quebeckers have the highest preference for online classifieds; and more than one-third of Albertans look for jobs online, while one-quarter search for housing online.
The survey was commissioned by Kijiji Canada – the largest classifieds website in Canada, with almost two million Canadian visitors annually. Leger Marketing (a Canadian representative of Gallup International) conducted the survey from December 13-18, 2006, with a representative sample of 1,000 Canadians over the age of 30.
