The Diverse Digital Families of Britain Unveiled by Oliver Wyman

• Survey identifies six digital categories of Brits ranging from the least digitally savvy to those building and contributing to the web
• Consumer companies urged to understand the digital families they are targeting to increase competitive advantage and thrive in the digital age
• Consumers can discover their own Digital Family by taking an online quiz.

LONDON, 24 APRIL 2017 – Today six archetypes of consumers, Britain’s Digital Families, are revealed to help companies better understand their customers and how to serve them.

Global management consultancy Oliver Wyman analysed survey data from over 1,500 respondents in its Britain’s Digital DNA research to profile the digital families that make up Britain today.

The results show a quarter (24 percent) are comfortable with the pace of digital change and innovation and are Laidback Luis, while 19 percent are Anxious Andersons. The remaining families are the Carefree Careys (15 percent), the Online Owens (15 percent), the Contributing Coles (15 percent), and the least digitally savvy of all: the Analogue Alis (12 percent).

The original Britain’s Digital DNA research showed over half of British adults (54 percent) would not want to live without the internet for a day, 45 percent are concerned about sharing their data online, and a third (31 percent) sometimes feel they cannot keep up with new technology.

Oliver Wyman Partner Deborah O’Neill says: “We hope that Britain’s Digital Families will knock businesses’ traditional ‘one size fits all’ approach to digital strategy on its head by showing huge contrasts between different types of digital users. Consumer companies need to know which digital families they are serving in order to take their unique preferences into consideration. Doing so will increase their competitive advantage and help them thrive in the digital age."

“For example, banks need to invest in convincing the Anxious Anderson family that it is safe to bank online and what their data is used for, and show the Analogue Ali family that it is easy. In contrast, supermarkets don’t need to convert the Anxious Andersons into online shoppers as they don’t make any more profit serving customers online than they do in store. Instead, they need to make sure Anxious Andersons are served well in store, and digital families like the Carefree Careys who love shopping online have the best experience.”

The digital families are:

Laidback Luis 

  • Users of reliable gadgets, value reliability over cutting-edge tech.
  • The people companies should impress with reliability rather than new digital innovations.

Anxious Andersons 

  • Defenders of privacy, concerned about cybercrime, willing to go ‘off-the-grid’
  • The people companies should reassure about cyber security and the purpose behind data collection. 

Carefree Careys 

  • Data sharers wanting convenience, good service, and totting up rewards points.
  • The people companies should serve by providing a seamless end-to-end user experience.

Online Owens 

  • Social media addicts, technology fans, followers of digital fads.
  • The people companies need to impress online via recommendations and endorsements. 

Contributing Coles 

  • Bloggers, vloggers, coders, story shapers.
  • The people companies should target to become brand champions. 

Analogue Alis 

  • Find technology complicated and changing too fast to keep up with.
  • The people companies should help get online and make the experience as simple and intuitive as possible.

Further details on Britain’s Digital Families are available here.

About Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 50+ cities across nearly 30 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has about 4,500 professionals around the world who help clients optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies [NYSE: MMC].