New research by vouchercloud shows the older generation are becoming all the more tech and bargain savvy, with half of Britons aged over 50 claiming to have started using online discounts, promotions and vouchers within the last year.
Of the 2000 over 50s in the survey, 82% reported to have used incentives, with over two thirds (68%) of this figure revealing they search for deals online, overtaking that of newspapers and magazines (61%), or in-store brochures (56%).
Free deliveries
Almost half of respondents (49%) said they’d started using vouchers within the last year, with 62% on the recommendation of friends and family. This was followed by those who ‘had seen them shared by friends on social media’ (27%).
According to the research, the older generation shows a preference in the kinds of vouchers they seek. Discounts with ‘free deliveries’ attached came out on top at 73%, followed by those offering ‘buy one get one free’ (62%) and ‘free samples of other products’ (59%).
Running in tandem with the first point, 63% said they liked vouchers as it allowed them to purchase more without worrying about getting their items home.
But the poll also found that over a third (36%) admit to purchasing of items they ‘don’t want or need’ because of incentive deals, while over half claim to overspend for the same reason.
Retailers have also been warned about who they should target with vouchers – the ‘over 50’ age gap appearing narrow in a survey earlier this year from Voucherbox, which showed online discount usage among over 65s dropping from 53% in 2014 to 47% this year.