The increased average life expectancy and an aging society has become an issue socially and economically. With the appearance of the new elderly generation, enterprises are showing an increasing interest in the 'elderly market', targeting those main c...
The increased average life expectancy and an aging society has become an issue socially and economically. With the appearance of the new elderly generation, enterprises are showing an increasing interest in the 'elderly market', targeting those main consumers aged 50 and above. The present women's perception of age and the change of lifestyle have exhibited influences on the consumers' psychological state. An understanding of the relationship between their perception of age and purchases of clothing is vital since clothing products are highly sensitive to age which affects the elderly clothing market. The purpose of this research is to inquire into the aspects of consumers' perception of age and their lifestyle and to reveal the effect of variability between the propensity to purchase and spending behaviors themselves.
This study was organized based on theoretical research and an empirical study.
The theoretical research was carried out by reviewing documentary records on the effect of the tendency to buy, purchasing behavior, purchasing standards, and the practical use of information technology and responding to advertising.
The empirical study was conducted by examining the contrast between the consumers' real age and the cognitive age they perceive themselves as socially and psychologically. The related effectiveness on the purposes of consuming, the acts and standards of purchasing, and the use of interpersonal information tools was also taken into account. In addition, this study examined the relationship between the consumers' purchasing behavior and their clothing preferences as well as the correlation between their different types of lifestyles and their preferences in choosing clothing.
In August of 2006, a survey was carried out regarding the consumers of the new elderly generation aged 55 and above. 561 respondents were surveyed, residing in Seoul and Metropolitan areas. SPSS12.0 was used for data analysis as well as frequency percentage. An analysis from the exploratory reconnaissance, Cronbach's α, K-average community and multivariate analysis, multi-recurrence and crossing analysis(χ2 verified) were used for statistics analysis.
The results of the empirical study are as follows:
First of all, the correlation between the actual age and the perceptual age differed in frequency. The perceptual age was lower than the real age by 10 years and as high as 30 years in all ages. The ratio of those in the ages of 65 to 69, perceived their age as in the thirties in terms of physical behavior. This shows that people who are in between 65-69 have a strong will to live. People 70-74, and 75-79 perceived their age as being in the forties which shows that people in these ages still have a strong interest in physical appearances. Those aged 80-84 perceived their age to be in the fifties, which signifies that they have a strong will of being more in! dependent than someone in that age bracket is traditionally thought to be.
Secondly, appearance-oriented and high technology-oriented were the most highlighted lifestyles as to the study of the vital statistics, related to the lifestyle in correspondence to the real-age and the cognitive age. Since the cognitive age only shared a marginal relationship with lifestyle, most people in their forties stood out in this part of the research.
The third component outlines the effect that cognitive age and lifestyle have on the purchasing of clothing which leads to impulsive purchasing through high-tech mass media to those who perceive themselves as in their thirties. The impulsive purchasing tendency was also shown in the cognitive age group of people in their 40s as they became patrons of a particular shop and kept purchasing clothing of their favorite brands. In terms of economical shopping tendencies, the lower the cognitive age, the less impulsive people became. This research shows that they tended to compare prices and qualities of products in many different shops, rather than shopping impulsively.
Fourthly, interpersonal purchasing purposes in correspondence with cognitive age and lifestyle were prominent in the mass-media cognitive age group of people in their 30s and inconspicuous in the appearance-oriented cognitive age group of people in their 50s. The cognitive age group of people in their 40s mostly relied on other people’s opinions.
In the fifth instance, consideration of a close correspondence between the cognitive age and lifestyle, the cognitive age group of people in their 30s was most distinctive in the practical perspective and the most indistinctive in the cognitive age group of challenging people in their 30s. In terms of economical standards, the cognitive age group of activity-oriented people in their 40s stood out the most and the cognitive age group of high-technology oriented people in their 40s had the lowest grade. From this criteria, it is shown that economic and practical matters are more pertinent than economical and psychological views in selection of clothing.
The sixth point dictates that cognitive age and lifestyle did not have significant effects on the use of information and vice versa. The cognitive age group of people in their 30s lacked the use of human resources, compared to other groups.
Lastly, as the cognitive age was higher in terms of purchasing tendency and behavior, it was proven that people who perceived themselves in a higher age bracket were more likely to be in control when shopping. In terms of interpersonal purchasing purposes, people tended to satisfy themselves with their wants and attain positive feelings as they perceived themselves to be older. In selecting clothing, it was indicated that people considered practical use most importantly. In terms of economical perspective, people that thought they looked older tended to consider their financial abilities and the harmony of their possessions more precisely. In terms of using! information, as they perceived themselves to be older, they relied more on their friends, families, neighbors, or the clerks, rather than gathering information from the visual impressions.
In conclusion, the change of the cognitive age and lifestyle of the new elderly generation is expected to be a variable in the clothing purchasing behavior in the future and this is thought to be because people will be able to attain mental satisfaction and enjoyment.
As the population of the new elderly generation increases, there is a need for changing views towards the new elderly generation and there is no doubt that it is a main target within marketing trends in the elderly generation industry.