Cognitive age and grocery-store patronage by elderly shoppers

Abstract

This paper discusses and evaluates the impact of cognitive (or self-perceived) age on grocery store patronage by elderly shoppers. Cognitive age is seen to be a more accurate reflection of changes related to age and aging than chronological age. Based on self-concept theory, the authors propose that cognitive age moderates the effects of perceptions of store attributes on satisfaction with a store. The hypotheses tests used a sample of 404 supermarket patrons aged 60 and above. The latent construct, cognitive age, was operationalised by six items: feel, look, do, interest, health and think age. The cognitive ages of our respondents proved to be significantly lower than their chronological ages. To evaluate the moderating effects, we applied the product indicator approach using variance-based structural equation modelling.The results show that the impacts of product range, manoeuvrability and atmosphere within the store on satisfaction become significantly stronger with increasing cognitive age. We conclude that cognitive age dimensions influence perceptions and, subsequently, behaviour related to store patronage and thus contribute to the understanding of the growing segment of elderly shoppers. Summary statement of contribution:The contribution of this paper is to provide a theoretical rationale and empirical evidence for considering cognitive age as a substantial influencer and predictor of store patronage by elderly shoppers. Thus, we call for a stronger consideration of self-perceived age dimensions, along with chronological age, in research and marketing related to older consumer cohorts.

Pervasive Mobile Services for Active Aging: An Exploratory Investigation into the Relationship Between Willingness-to-Adopt Mobile Devices and Shopping Experience

“…The procurement of food is a fundamental task that must be carried out by most people and can be considered a cumbersome task that must be performed frequently [30]. Senior shoppers are exposed to the shopping task for longer periods of time than younger shoppers due to declining fitness and agility, and/or simply due to having more disposable time [29]. Consumers who have ambulation and dexterity problems, as do many of the shoppers in the senior demographic, find this chore especially challenging [32].…”

An Empirical Validation of the Methodology for Measuring Self-Perceived Age in the Middle Eastern Market

“…For example, in a sample of French seniors, Guiot (2001) found an average difference of 11.97 years. In a recent study of elderly Western Europeans, Teller et al (2013) found an average age difference of 10.83 years, while in an Australian sample of seniors, Cleaver and Muller (2002) found an average difference of 10.2 years. Even when studying a broad cross section of consumers in different chronological 507 Available Online at: http://grdspublishing.org/ age categories, average differences between the two age-oriented constructs are typically larger, with most respondents reporting cognitive ages in the range of 3 to 5 years below chronological age (Barak et al, 2011).…”

“…Given the widespread tendency for consumers to disregard their true ages in favor of their own self-perceptions, it becomes apparent that one's self-perceived age may be a better predictor of age-related psychological states, attitudes, or behavioral tendencies than chronological age (Iyer and Reisenwitz, 2010;Moschis and Mathur, 2006;Teller, Gittenberger and Schnedlitz, 2013). In fact, Guido, Amatulli, and Peluso (2014) conclude that one's self-perceived age can affect decision processes even more than one's real age.…”

“…Evidence for the subjective self-assessment of age comes from numerous studies that indicate that the percentage of people who perceive themselves exactly at their actual chronological age is relatively low (Chang, 2008;Eastman and Iyer, 2012;Teller, Gittenberger and Schnedlitz, 2013). Given the widespread tendency for consumers to disregard their true ages in favor of their own self-perceptions, it becomes apparent that one's self-perceived age may be a better predictor of age-related psychological states, attitudes, or behavioral tendencies than chronological age (Iyer and Reisenwitz, 2010;Moschis and Mathur, 2006;Teller, Gittenberger and Schnedlitz, 2013).…”

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“…Some retailers have started to target this group of customers because it is growing; its members want the products to be adjusted to the specific needs and they Innovative Positioning as a Marketing Tool of Retailers on the Food Market | 83 are ready to pay for that. Thus, the retailers are interested in searching this market and developing retail patronage (Oates et al, 1996;Teller et al, 2013).…”