A new study by mobile gaming community MocoSpace looks at virtual goods consumption and engagement by age, through a survey of nearly 500,000 gamers on MocoSpace’s network of 22 million users. While the report confirmed that younger gamers (ages 25-35) spend more time playing social games, it also revealed that older gamers (ages 45 and up) spend significantly more on virtual goods than younger gamers.
The younger demographic ( ages 25-35) spends nearly twice as much time gaming as any other group, while those 45 and older spend – by far – the least amount of time gaming.
However, “age directly correlates with amount of money spent on virtual goods within social games,” based on the MocoSpace data. So while the the younger demographic plays significantly more, the older demographic buys more virtual goods – the older the gamer, the more they spend while gaming, according to TechCrunch.
- Gamers over age 35 (18% of gamers) were responsible for 42% of virtual goods spending
- Gamers ages 18-25 (43% of gamers) were responsible for only 18% of virtual goods spending
Why are older gamers more likely to spend? Perhaps because they have more disposable income, or because they’re more interested in moving ahead quickly within the game.
Regardless of the reasons behind this trend, the results are important for marketers and developers. While virtual goods may provide a significant revenue source among older gamers, TechCrunch suggests that “an advertising-driven model may be more profitable” among younger gamers, who are less likely to spend on virtual goods.
