My recent query for information on seniors and online spending invited a welcome but overwhelming slew of emails from qualified sources familiar with the phenomenon. Not even my 1,000 word-plus feature story covered the whole story of silver foxes and their spending habits.

One of my most knowledgeable sources is Scott Wainner, who runs two shopping sites, Dealighted.com and Resellerratings.com. Having operated shopping sites since 1998, he is a veteran consumer and personal finance expert.

Among other issues, Wainner addresses seniors’ concerns of falling prey to consumer fraud when spending online, an issue with which most online shoppers, no matter their age, identify.

“Seniors, while they should be careful, should also take comfort in that there are already a number of consumer protections in place to protect them as they shop online. It is little known that in 2007 only 1.4% of the total $3.6B of online transactions were fraudulent,” Wainner tells demo dirt.

“What's more important, though, is that credit card companies must protect consumers by law, and they cannot hold consumers responsible for misuse of their cards to a greater extent than $50,” Wainner explains. “A consumer need only call their card company to report charges that they did not make, and card companies will reverse the charges. Many card companies go even further by protecting consumers against merchant fraud, not just card theft—when a merchant does not provide a product or service as advertised, the credit card company will often reverse the charges.”

Seniors may have to abandon the unfamiliar when choosing payment methods, for safety’s sake.  “It's very important that seniors be instructed to always use a credit card online to take advantage of these benefits, and to never pay by check, wire transfer, money order, or cash, even though they may be more comfortable with those traditional payment methods,” Wainner advises.

Gramma and Grampa are probably spending tons of money on toys for the grandkids, right? That may be true, but ToysRUs.com isn’t the only site getting their silver dollars. “Seniors demand day-to-day practical products such as groceries and health/personal care items, but there is also a big market for semi-practical ‘QVC/home-shopping’ type of products such as tools and kitchen products,” Wainner says. 

Seniors also enjoy purchasing “various collectible-type products, and purely luxury items such as clothing and jewelry as well. Services that are popular for seniors include healthcare, insurance, and financial advisors,” he says.

It looks like senior spending is everywhere, and as they get more and more comfortable with online shopping, it will only grow. The best way to engage these eager shoppers? As for anyone, make it easy, Wainner advises. “Web sites are now generally as easy to use as a print-catalog,” he says. “Placing an order should be intuitive, with images conveying trust (such as SSL browser security) displayed, and the merchant's phone number should be prominently displayed to give seniors the more comfortable option of picking up the phone to order from an on-line merchant. It's particularly important that the merchant Web site make sense—it should be intuitive.”

Having a phone number to call makes the experience more concrete, less virtual, and can reduce or eliminate any potential shopping frustrations. Speaking for my 33-year-old self, I can’t express how grateful I have been for those trusty 1-800 numbers when I have ordered online. Just at the start of my online shopping career, I remember calling a number and charging the purchase over the phone, I was so freaked about sending the card number out into cyber-world, where evil techie elves would have access to it. Today, hey, it’s second nature, and just as I learned to go with the flow, I am sure my 60-and 70-something sisters and brothers have done the same.

For more information on Scott Wainner and his shopping sites, go to www.Dealighted.com and www.Resellerratings.com and see his blog at www.Wrevenue.com.