Not Your Grandma's Internet Yet

It is abundantly evident that the number of online buyers is multiplying at a healthy rate.

E-tailers will surely extend open arms to the throngs of newcomers, but they may not be ready for their entirely new customer personalities. The fact is, the Internet is reaching the middle class en masse, ushering in legions of mid- to late-term technology adopters.

Earlier this week, Jupiter Media Metrix estimated that the U.S. online shopping population, which now numbers 66 million, will double to 132 million in the next five years. The kicker: The majority of U.S. online shoppers in five years will be over the age of 35 and from households with annual income of between US$30,000 and $75,000.

To earn the loyalty of these Average Joes, e-tailers will have to focus on utility and simplicity rather than on flashy design and bleeding-edge functionality.

Elder Shoppers

Until recently, and with good reason, many Internet companies -- e-tailers and multichannel retailers included -- targeted young, relatively affluent, technology-hungry adults.

After all, young adults comprise 47 percent of today's Internet shoppers, while consumers ages 50 and up constitute just 16 percent of the e-shopping population, according to Jupiter's report.

In the fanciful formative years of e-commerce, the Web has been replete with infinitely customizable sites and ever-rising benchmarks for design sophistication.

But between now and 2006, the young adult population that has eagerly lapped up whiz-bang new technology will account for just 19 percent of new online shoppers. On the other hand, older consumers will make up 30 percent of those new shoppers.

Simple Sells

Consequently, most broad-scoped retailers will have to adhere to a new litmus test for prospective features and functionalities. As one industry observer put it, "Does it pass 'the grandmother test'?"

That is, will your grandmother understand this check-out process, favorites list or product comparison tool? If not, fasten your retooling hat, because simple sells.

Litmus Test

This truism has come to light in the epic saga of online security. Visa and MasterCard, for example, may have run their latest password-based credit card security systems by a few grandmothers.

Visa's Verified by Visa program and MasterCard's Universal Cardholder Authentication Field (UCAF) standard and Secure Payment Application (SPA) require cardholders to enter a password to authorize online transactions. That's it.

Anyone who has an ATM card knows the drill. Not surprisingly, more than 18 percent of online consumers are embracing these simple security programs. Meanwhile, most users continue to shun more complex systems, such as public key infrastructure (PKI), smart cards and disposable card numbers, according to recent research from GartnerG2.

Head of the Class

Will or should e-tailers place a moratorium on innovation and aesthetics to appease neophytes? Absolutely not.

Sites do not necessarily have to sacrifice elegance and sophistication for simplicity. For instance, several clothing retailers -- including Lands' End, Guess and Orvis -- use technology from My Virtual Model to let shoppers try on clothes using cyber-replicas of themselves.

Back to Basics

On the other hand, Michigan-based office furniture retailer Herman Miller offers a three-dimensional product configuration tool that requires customers to download a client-based application.

This is one of the smoothest online gadgets I have encountered, but would Grandma get it? I know mine wouldn't (nothing personal, Grandma).

To be fair, most of Herman Miller's customers are high-brow executives with bandwidth to spare. But most mainstream retailers will face steadier streams of purposeful, middle-class customers in the coming years.

In any case, tomorrow's e-tail marketers should stay especially attuned to an axiom that is far older than the Internet or any of its shoppers: Know your customer.