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Cabeza-Ramírez, J. Elderly Consumers. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/8744 (accessed on 08 July 2024).
Cabeza-Ramírez J. Elderly Consumers. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/8744. Accessed July 08, 2024.
Cabeza-Ramírez, Javier. "Elderly Consumers" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/8744 (accessed July 08, 2024).
Cabeza-Ramírez, J. (2021, April 16). Elderly Consumers. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/8744
Cabeza-Ramírez, Javier. "Elderly Consumers." Encyclopedia. Web. 16 April, 2021.
Elderly Consumers
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This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/foods10030688

For elderly consumers, the age-related changes drive their specific choices of products and services, which tend to be different from younger adults, and, therefore, have major significance in consumer behavior and marketing.

elderly older consumer purchasing behavior buying behavior good purchases consumer behavior

1. Introduction

The current COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused global concerns on health issues of individuals, it has also changed the behavior of consumers, mainly because going out and shopping normally is now considered a threat to the lives of people due to the threat of the virus. Examples of changed behaviors include stocking up of essential items at home, especially in times of lockdown when going out is prohibited, owing to the need for social distancing. Unlike previous times, new products have been added to the shopping list as essential items, such as sanitizers, masks, gloves, and other protective gear, for virus protection purposes [1].

This situation represents a particular challenge for older people. Because of lockdowns and layoffs in companies to manage business losses, older people are mostly being affected, losing their jobs, experiencing major disruptions in their normal service activities, and losing their retirement savings. On the other hand, their health vulnerabilities are on the rise, along with other associated issues such as depression and anxiety driven by suffering from the disease or being in a state of panic and threat [2]. Furthermore, as they are facing challenges with their earning and savings, it also has an impact on how much they can spend on their purchases.

Thus, there is an overall change in the traditional ways and habits of shopping styles and purchases. Online purchases have increased drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic t, which reflects how technology is taking over. Customers are increasingly considering online shopping options instead of physically visiting the stores [3]. Due to the technological advances and increased involvement of information and communications technology, ICT is driving the advanced designs of supermarkets and their services, and elderly consumers are experiencing more difficulties shopping in the supermarkets. Additionally, the use of ICT, lack of proper signage, and lack of effective customer support is further reducing the motivation levels of the elderly consumers to consider supermarkets for shopping. Although they are trying to learn quickly and use technology to avoid visiting stores, they do not feel comfortable with the Internet and online shopping features. On the other hand, there is the possibility that the new habits that people are adopting could become habitual habits in the future, which could mean that older consumers will gradually adopt new experiences and shopping options [4].

2. Determinants of Food Purchasing Behavior of the Elderly

First of all, the “personal level” was widely considered. To explain the behavior of the elderly consumer, we select the factors that can be considered personal and that constitute fundamental variables [5][6][7][8][9]. To begin with, the age and stage of the individual’s life cycle influence the changes present in the structure of products and services. On the other hand, due to the growth of the elderly population and the adaptation of markets to their needs, aspects such as profession, level of education, and purchasing power are also included here, mainly [10][11][12]. However, age stands out as the main study variable. The concept of third age is commonly used to refer to those over 65 years old; however, there are studies that differ and mark the figure by more than 55 or even 75 years old. In this sense, the World Health Organization considers people aged 65 years or more as older people and people aged 85 years or over as very old people. Ultimately, the consensus opinion in the literature refers to the fact that the group of elderly people is not a homogeneous group and requires other more sophisticated segmentation factors.

On the other hand, both emotion and motivation are representative aspects of the non-cognitive part of human thought, which are defined by their intrinsic relation with factors associated with the practice of consumption [13]. The factor of affection could be reviewed as a more determining factor in the behavior among elderly consumers. In this regard, it could be deduced that their emotions further contribute to their personality and the perceptions which drive their preference for particular brands, products, or services and, hence, determine their choices of offering as well as shopping preferences [6][14]. Furthermore, cultural factors can be highlighted, understanding culture as a group of beliefs, rules, values, knowledge, attitudes, and habits established over time and shared by individuals from the same community. Other classifications corresponding to cultural factors are the subculture and social class, the latter being the common characteristics shared by individuals of the same social status.

Likewise, within this level, social factors are of paramount importance. The social groups of reference through a feeling of union, common rules, and objectives affect consumer behavior in the process of formalizing opinions [15][16]. The family stands out especially, as the modality with the greatest influence on the consumer due to its durability superior to the rest. Consequently, on a large number of occasions, the family is the driving force behind the purchase [17][18].

From this level, it can be inferred that, in recent years, as a consequence of an aging world population, the attention paid to elderly consumers has increased in the scientific literature. Nowadays it is recognized that changes in the number of working-age and elderly people influence consumption and savings patterns. Undoubtedly, older customers play and will play an important role in retail spending in a convulsed economic future in the aftermath of the global pandemic.

Secondly, an “intermediate level” in which the works of authors that affect the convenience of adaptation to this market segment are observed. It is true that for retailers it becomes crucial to firstly address and understand the specific needs and expectations of elderly consumers, considering them a completely different marketing segment to target [19][20][21][22]. However, the question nonetheless arises as to whether they really understand the elderly consumers. As could be reviewed, usually with aging, they experience a systematic decline in cognitive processing that includes memory issues and deficient executive functioning of the brain. Age effects also become visible in the speed of their information processing during mental operations skills [23][24][25].

In this regard, it could be considered that the emotions of elderly consumers further contribute to their personality and perceptions, which drive their affection for particular brands, products, or services and, hence, determine their choices of offering as well as shopping preferences [13][26][27]. Moreover, it could also be perceived that if a brand is able to develop suitable promotional measures such as advertising capable of initiating positive emotions in consumers, positive purchase actions can also be expected from the elderly consumers, since in their case, it is based on the affection factor rather than on cognition [28]. This means that marketers could review the role of advertising and marketing in influencing the affection of older consumers, as it affects the behavior of this type of consumer.

Thirdly and last, a “product level” is warned. A significant research gap could be realized in determining the purchase response of elderly consumers to supermarkets and the impacts of promotions of supermarkets on this market segment, considering the available sources of previous research findings. As could be obtained from the reviews, the choice of and responses to supermarkets have a significant association of people’s choices of diets and lifestyles, which they look for being fulfilled with offerings made by the supermarkets [29][30][31]. The sales promotions of supermarkets are largely based on the displays of products on the shelves in multiple aisles and customers tend to get influenced by the information they have from the product packaging [32][33][34]. The shape and size of the products, the information shared on the packaging, and the packaging materials play a crucial part in promoting the products to the customers, which in turn determines their behavior [35]. Older people face difficulties in shopping from the high and low shelves where different products are arranged in a supermarket. The height of the shelves, signs and displays, size and proportions, and labeling are not effectively suitable for elderly consumers in most cases, particularly when they have long been comfortable with traditional grocery store style shopping. At the same time, there are changing consumption patterns among the elderly consumers, which, however, seem to be less addressed by the supermarkets in their marketing and promotions [36][37].

In aspects to consider, we highlight the different physical needs in relation to the service and design of supermarkets, the predilection or rejection of department stores, or the desire for personal treatment by shop assistants [38][39]. Deficiencies and failures in these factors are the cause of elderly consumers abandoning a brand and losing loyalty. As den Uijl, Jager, de Graaf, Waddell, and Kremer [40] stated in their research paper, the loyalty of elderly consumers is more associated with their affection rather than their cognition. In this regard, it could be realized that affection, cognition, and customer satisfaction are the three key factors determining the loyalty of elderly consumers. When affection is considered, it represents the emotional and mental ways in which an individual interprets information, the actuation of their perception, which in turn determines their positive or negative feelings and affections for other people or objects.

In parallel, the location of the supermarket is a very important aspect, especially when it is a point to be evaluated by elderly consumers [36][27]. Numerous studies have concluded that both the distribution of products in the supermarket and the equipment for their transport are two of the most evaluated points [11]. Due to the physical deterioration of buyers, comfort is the main deciding factor. Within this convenience, the most relevant components are: easy entry and exit points, informed and trained sales staff, or celerity at checkout counters. From what has been mentioned, the physical environment/surroundings in supermarkets, malls, or restaurants are critical factors that can determine the level of influence on the minds of elderly customers towards driving them to a purchase. The effectiveness, comfort, and presentation of physical surroundings also determine how and why customers would choose one marketing brand over another, which is particularly true when it comes to physical shopping food experiences for customers. In order to achieve sales, therefore, managers need to focus on this factor significantly, ensuring that they offer a comfortable and safe physical surrounding to their elderly customers. Such physical surroundings are also significant in relation to the sales and promotion techniques considered by a marketer. In cases of supermarkets and hypermarkets, while the marketer can offer various discounts and offers on their products, it is also important that the physical surroundings are suitable. Unless the physical surroundings and shopping experience of the consumers are suitable and comfortable, discounts and offers or any promotional activities rarely would have significant impacts on the consumer.

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