Director of Loyalty at Hannaford Supermarkets

In November the Associated Press reported that a consortium of consumer groups sent letters to some major retailers claiming their digital programs unfairly treated some consumers. The story was immediately picked up in media focused on consumer retail—Supermarket News, Progressive Grocer, Morning Newsbeat. If you engage with general consumer audiences digitally this story and the data behind it may be instructive.  If you are a strictly B2B digital marketer, there may be some lessons for you as well, as rates of digital adoption and preference can be factors with how you approach other large audiences.

The premise of the consumer groups’ specific argument is that digital-only offers discriminate against certain groups of people, because those groups have less access or ability to use those offers.  I won’t make a legal argument to the contrary here (though I have certainly sought legal consul on this matter over the years) but I do think the conversation would benefit from some added context.

Most of what I’ve read puts the focus on older consumers and cites Pew research findings that “25% of people 65 or older do not use the internet.” The study also found that 61% of that same age group “has a smartphone”. When compared to other age groups these are comparatively low numbers.  But that comparison alone is not a strong argument.  Here are some other relevant things to consider.

1. The first fact that should be considered is that 75% using the internet is a clear majority. In fact, it’s difficult to think of many things that 75% or more of the general population of the U.S. agrees on.  Far from supporting the argument that the 65+ age group as a whole does not use the internet, this statistic seems to show the internet is wildly popular with this group.

2. Second, “use” and “access” are not the same thing.  Some consumers, given the choice, would prefer to interact with your consumer relations, purchase your products, and engage with offers and coupons in an analog fashion over a digital one.  But they likely do leverage the internet for other things.  Anecdotally I can tell you that I’ve seen many notes from consumers saying they do not use the internet, and those notes overwhelming come from their personal email accounts.  Do they consider that using the internet? Perhaps not.  It may be that if something is familiar and intuitive (like email) users are not even conscious of the technology being leveraged.

"If Some People Prefer to Engage with your Company Digitally, and Others Choose to Avoid Digital Tools, Offers, Ecommerce, Etc., They Have That Choice"

3. Third, if a company completely commits to a digital-only program, but truly puts an effort into making a both a compelling offering and a welcoming, intuitive user experience, they will see a higher rate of adoption among all age groups.  I’ve launched a digital-only loyalty program for a regional retailer, and a very strong majority of the population in the served trade areas enrolled.  That region includes Maine, the state with the highest average age in the country.  To achieve this level of adoption we invested heavily in our launch, including associate training, multiple digital paths for users to enroll (including a dedicated, in-store device), and in-store, mobile-enabled staff dedicated to helping customers enroll.

Consider that 25% of the 65+ group who “do not use the internet.” It’s reasonable to assume a good portion of the group has internet access but chooses to not engage with digital technology.  It’s also reasonable to assume another portion of the group has internet access and uses digital technology, but only for a limited number of applications they are comfortable with.  Finally, the remainder of that 25% truly has no access. The potential digital engagement of the entire group could be below or above 75%.

If some people prefer to engage with your company digitally, and others choose to avoid digital tools, offers, eCommerce, etc., they have that choice. You need to make your business decisions with your eyes wide open to that fact.  If digital offers present an advantage—such as eliminating fraud, giving the ability to personalize offers, and even getting access to other sources of funding from partners—you can pass some advantages on to the consumer.  If the consumers do not find what you offer attractive it could signal that the incentives are not sufficiently compelling, the digital tools you’ve developed are not intuitive enough, or some combination of both. It won’t be easy to accurately discern between customers who “do not use the internet” versus those who are making a choice to not engage with you digitally. One thing is certain though: If you simply assume the 65+ consumer “does not use the internet” you won’t be able to estimate the true digital opportunity this complex group of consumers represents.