The elderly consumer and non‐food purchase behaviour

Demographic change is leading to an ageing of the population in the UK, but there is still a considerable debate as to whether the elderly should be treated as a distinct market segment. Previous work on the shopping preferences and activities of the elderly, undertaken mainly in the USA, has identified a number of issues relating to patronage behaviour and attitudes to store attributes. Seeks to examine some of these issues in a British context. Interviews were conducted with 838 shoppers over the age of 55 in three different shopping locations,investigating store choice and attitudes. An item of clothing was chosen to provide the shopping context. Results suggest that gender appears to be a more important attribute than age in determining a number of shopping traits, in particular, actual shop choice and the expressed motives for shop choice. Some general preference is evident among the elderly group for locally operated rather than nationally operated store options.