According to a recent report by Hitwise UK, the 55+ age demographic is set to overtake the 35-44 year olds as the demographic age group with the largest representation online. According to the report, in the 4 weeks up to the 12th May, 22% of UK website visits were done by the 55+ age group, up 54% since 2005 and 40% since 2006. In comparison, the 35-44 age group accounted for 23.5% of visits during the same period.

According to Heather Hopkins, VP for research at Hitwise UK, the most searched categories searched by the 55+ age group were as follows:

• Search Engines
• Adult
• Shopping and classified

In particular , the 55% age group spent a lot of time browsing Travel (27%) and News and Media (24%) sites, particularly cruise, lifestyle, stocks and shares related sites. For example, 55% surfers were responsible for circa 48% of the Cruise related traffic in the month prior to 12th May.

To read the full release from Hitwise UK, click here