Targeting the digitally disadvantaged

Despite the government’s big push to get the UK population online, an estimated 9 million people have never been online and a further 11 million adults haven’t used the internet in the past 12 months. As businesses and organisations increasingly look to switch from paper-based communications to digital media, there is the potential for this important – and diverse – audience to be overlooked.

This report uses TGI data and research from the Future Foundation to examine the drive for cyber-equality, and to profile this offline audience. It also reveals direct mail’s effectiveness in reaching those consumers without internet access.

Key findings include:

• The UK's offline audience can be divided in to three socio-economic groups – affluent ABC1s, mature downscale (55+ C2Des) and younger downscale (15-54 C2DE).
• Adults in Wales and Scotland are the most likely to be offline.
• The government’s Race Online 2012 project reveals that older people who are at risk of social exclusion can benefit from the internet as part of mainstream health and social care provision.
• 77% of adults in the UK prefer to receive bills by post.
• 62% of offline consumers have bought something in response to direct mail.