Workday Consumers: Who They Are and Why They're Goldmines

BY Rachel Cagle
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When is the best time to target consumers with ads? You may think it’s after they clock out at 5:00 p.m. or maybe before they get into work in the morning. And, while you’re not wrong, has your client considered targeting consumers while they’re at work? It may sound crazy, but remote and hybrid work situations have made workday consumers a demographic to keep an eye on.

Workday Consumers

Just who are workday consumers? According to a study by Microsoft, 66% of consumers say that they mix their worktime to-​do lists to include both work-​related and personal tasks. 60% also view work-​related and personal tasks to be equally important to get done during their worktime. Workday consumers:

  • Use work tools for personal reasons: 56% of consumers say this
    • They prefer not to switch devices during worktime for personal use: 48%
  • Spend more time on personal matters during work hours than they did pre-​pandemic: 45%
  • Spend at least an hour of worktime doing personal tasks: 40%
  • Dedicate at least three hours of worktime for personal tasks: 10%
  • Believe work and personal tasks are equally important to get done during work hours: 59%

“This suggests that one in 10 consumers in this study spends between one third and half of their worktime on personal tasks,” says Microsoft.

Why Your Client Should be Targeting Them

Since workday consumers use their worktime for personal tasks, they’re exposed to ads during the workday. According to Microsoft, 50% of consumers research products or services they’re considering buying during their worktime. 37% also make personal purchases while they’re at work. Another 45% browse social media while at work, 44% read or watch the news and 35% consume entertainment content, such as TV.

What They’re Purchasing

One benefit of making purchases during worktime is that workday consumers are already using PCs. Why is that important? Workday consumers consider the PC to be a key touchpoint in their buying journey when they’re making high-​consideration and complex purchases, which they are. Purchases workday consumers are considering include:

  • Travel: 66% of consumers research travel purchases and 64% of them make these purchases during work hours
  • Financial Planning: 62% of consumers plan to make these types of purchases using PCs
  • Home Improvement: This category ranges from gardening products to electronics, all of which 60% of consumers prefer to buy using a PC
  • Leisure Items: This is a top category for workday consumers to research or purchase during the workday, including sporting goods and online games

And this isn’t a fading trend. Microsoft says that 44% of consumers plan to increase the number of purchases they make during work hours over the next 12 months.

Your Client’s Opportunity

According to Microsoft, only 46% of organizations are improving their potential customers’ purchasing journeys to include work and personal devices. Additionally, only 43% are taking into consideration the fact that workday consumers mix work and personal tasks during the typical workday. And only 41% of companies even realize that purchasing stages occur during work hours.

Sellers that have made each of these realizations are planning to increase their digital advertising budget to target workday consumers. They’re also focusing their advertising efforts on search, social, online video, and digital display.

So, it’s time that your clients identify which digital ads work best when targeting workday consumers. Using AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel, you’ll be able to see which digital ad media your client’s target audience responds to the most and strategize to attract workday consumers accordingly.

Photo by Thought Catalog

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