Targeting Generation X
For Online Sales Success
By Lucie Kim
Staff Writer, E-Commerce Times
Although they are often branded in the media as aimless slackers with no financial future, Generation X (young adults between 18 and 34) represents the most media-savvy and technology-friendly group ever. With 31.6 million Gen-Xers using the Internet, online retailers can't afford to ignore this unique online segment.
According to a recent third-quarter survey conducted by IntelliQuest, an Internet research and consulting firm based in Austin, Texas, Gen-Xers purchase books more than any other product. Software, music, and event tickets are also top-selling items, indicating that Gen-Xers look to the Internet for convenience. "The Internet is just a new medium to get to the things that are interesting to [Gen-Xers] anyway," says Tom Fornoff, Vice President at Intelliquest, "and the data [of online buying] has been trending upwards."
Having grown up with television, MTV, and the rise of computers, Gen-Xers are extremely comfortable with technology, and were the earliest adopters of the Internet, according to David Morrison, president and founder of TwentySomething Inc., a consulting company based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, devoted solely to Generation X market research. Combine their tendency to adopt new technology early on, with their ability to make purchases, and it is evident that Gen-Xers are the most promising audience for e-commerce.
Been There, Done That
Effectively marketing to Gen-Xers, however, is a challenge, because they grew up in the age of sound bites, ad blitzes, and media clutter. They've seen all the advertisements, and are suspicious of inflated claims and misrepresentations. In fact, adults in this age group consider the term "Generation X" as another distortion of the media, which they find alienating. "They're very anti-hype, anti-advertising," says Morrison of TwentySomething. "You need to reach them, and differentiate your advertising and message -- so in some way, you have to hype [your products] to them -- but the conventional means of hyping don't work, because they've seen it already."
Content and Commerce
As a popular Web site offering content that appeals to many Gen-Xers, E! Online successfully forges the two elements of content and commerce to target this market. According to Peter Sheinbaum, manager of electronic commerce at Shop.eonline.com, "We practice contextual selling, where we selectively promote our product to the qualified customer. For example, when the "X-Files" movie premiered, we hosted an X-Files chat room, where at one point, we had 15,000 simultaneous chatters. This presented a great opportunity to leverage our assets, and to advertise products on the page that would appeal to this audience."
Soft Sell for Success
E! Online's contextual selling reflects a central tenet of marketing to Gen-Xers: don't hard sell your products. Gen-Xers are wary of pushy salespeople, and prefer to be presented with information, and then make shopping decisions on their own. For Gen-Xers, being told to buy a product is a strong reason not to buy it.
Far from being lazy and aimless, Gen-Xers are smart, skeptical consumers who want to make informed choices, especially as they strive to improve their financial prospects in a time of corporate downsizing. "Retailers have to be really careful," says Morrison, "because the Generation X audience is very marketing savvy. They're very intelligent consumers, so don't misrepresent your products. Otherwise, you run the risk not only of confusing the market, but alienating them as well."
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