Every generation contributes to the global conversation around brands, products, and services; however, Baby Boomers (those now age 47 to 65) are overrepresented in their share of online feedback, according to The Conversation Index by Bazaarvoice, which also found that Boomers tend to be more positive than other generations when leaving product feedback.
Across nearly six million consumer-contributed online opinions shared by online consumers age 18 to 65:
- Baby Boomers, the largest generational group, comprise 42% of the global population; however, they contribute 45% of total online product opinions, some 3 percentage points above their global share of the population.
- Millennials (age 18-34) make up 34% of the global population, but contribute 31% of product feedback globally, 3 points below their global population share.
- Gen-X adults (age 35-46) make up 24% of the global population. Their feedback contribution falls in line directly with their population at 24%.
US data show a slightly different picture: Boomers' share of product feedback falls exactly in line with their population (at 44%), whereas Millennials are underrepresented by 1 point.
Canadian Millennials are overrepresented in their share of product feedback by 12 points relative to their population, while UK Millennials are underrepresented by 11 points.
Below, additional findings from The Conversation Index Volume 4, by Bazaarvoice.
Overall trends in sentiment, based on seven years of data and millions of consumer opinions, have consistently shown consumers to be primarily positive when reviewing products online.
Some 82% of all consumer opinions were positive during the study period. (On a five-star scale, a highly positive review is a four- or five-star review, Bazaarvoice notes.)
However, Boomers are more likely than other generations to share positive feedback about products:
- Boomers tend to leave more positive sentiment, assigning a higher proportion of five-star ratings than other generations by 3 percentage points.
- Gen-X adults give more negative, one-star product ratings than any other generation (1 point above the average).
- Millennials are decidedly middle-of-the-road, sharing the highest proportion of three-star reviews (7 points above the average), but the fewest one-star (very negative) and five-star (very positive) product ratings.
New Zealand's Millennials are the most positive, giving products four- or five-star reviews 92% of the time, beating the global average by some 10 points.
About the data: The Conversation Index Volume 4 is based on the the analysis of 12,700,000 consumer data points of online sentiment from January to March, 2012.
