Tech

Tech companies will increasingly look to aging baby boomers for growth, says Evercore analyst

Key Points
  • A report from Evercore ISI estimates only about 70 percent of baby boomers use mobile internet versus 90 percent of millennials.
  • Big tech companies have a huge growth opportunity with an estimated 14 million baby boomers expected to migrate to mobile within four years.
  • As baby boomers become a bigger part of the market, tech companies will simplify user interface for an easier experience.
Internet analyst: How baby boomers could drive mobile internet traffic in next 4 years
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Internet analyst: How baby boomers could drive mobile internet traffic in next 4 years

So long millennials. Baby boomers are the next big growth opportunity for tech, particularly for internet companies tied to smartphone use, according to Evercore ISI Senior Media and Internet Analyst Anthony DiClemente.

"As you think about saturation of the younger demographic, [boomers are] a demographic, along with international, that could really drive the growth," DiClemente said on CNBC's "Power Lunch."

A report from Evercore estimates that only about 70 percent of Americans 55-years-old or older currently use mobile internet, versus 90 percent of their millennial counterparts. Furthermore, the report estimates 14 million baby boomers are expected to start using mobile internet within the next four years.

"This is a cohort that has at least 30 percent greater annual purchasing power than the millennials, and so we think there is a lot of net wealth there to tap into," DiClemente said.

DiClemente says that the relationship between baby boomers and tech will be mutually beneficial. As more baby boomers move to mobile, tech companies simplify user interfaces to make them more comprehensible for older people.

"This is a theme for Snap and a theme for Twitter — improving the user interface and making it easier to use for folks like my parents who may be less fluent in using their phones," he said.

As for which applications baby boomers will use, DiClemente says household names will likely dominate. He sees boomers favoring Amazon's Alexa app, Google Maps and Facebook.