Büyüyen Yaşlı Tüketiciler Pazarı: Yaşlı Tüketicilerin Satın Alma Davranışları ve Görüşleri

Abstract

This study was planned and conducted to determine the purchasing behaviours and the views of the older consumers in the growing older consumers market. The sample of the study consists of a total of 500 people who are in "65 and over" age group to represent the older consumers living in Cankaya, Kecioren and Mamak districts within the borders of Ankara. A questionnaire consisting of four parts was prepared for the collection of research data. In the first part of the questionnaire, the personal information of the older consumers participating in the survey; in the second part, the purchasing behaviours of older consumers; in the third part, the levels of participation of the older consumers in pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase behaviours, and in the fourth part, the questions that are aimed to determine the participation levels of the statements about the views of older consumers about the market are present. In the determination of the purchasing behaviours and the views on the market of the older consumers participating in the research, cross tables were formed based on gender, age groups, education status and monthly incomes. The relationship between purchasing behaviours of older consumers and independent variables was analyzed by the "Chi-Square" test. As a result of the survey, "The Difference between Two Means Significance Test (t-test)" and "One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)" methods were used in determining whether the difference between the average scores of the participation levels of the statements of the older consumers on pre-purchase, purchase, post-purchase behaviours and market views was significant according to the independent variables. In the survey, it is seen that women in the "65-74" age group, those who had secondary education, who are retired, who are in the "2000 - 2999 TL" income group, who perceive their income as low income, who have social security, who are married, who are credit card holders and who are not car owners are prominent. In the survey, it was determined that among the older consumers, those who stated that shopping was usually "sometimes on weekdays, sometimes at weekends", "in the afternoon" and "accompanied with their spouse" were prominent. The older consumers who are included in the scope of the survey stated that they buy food products generally "every day"; clothing items and durable consumer goods, generally "over one-month intervals". It has been found that among older consumers, the ones stated that they buy food products generally from "grocery stores and stores (out of shopping centers)", and clothing items and durable consumer goods usually from "shopping centers" were prominent. It has been determined that older consumers use their incomes to meet their food and health needs, respectively. In the survey, it was found that the purchasing behaviour of the older consumers was the most affected by the family. It was also found that older consumers pay cash during the shopping period. Within the scope of the survey, it was determined that mean participating scores to the statements of older consumers about pre-purchase behaviour stating that "I conduct price research", "I investigate whether the product is good", "I regularly conduct budget planning"; about purchase behaviour stating that "I go to stores close to my house", "I buy goods that are suitable for health", "I buy quality products"; about post-purchase behaviour stating that "I take bill/receipt after purchase", "I keep the guarantee document", " I change the product that I think is defective after purchasing", "I return the defective product" were high. When the views of the older consumers included in the survey on market are examined; it was found that mean participating scores to the expressions stating that "The labels should be written in a way that it is easier for older consumers to understand", "I think it is too small to read the texts on the labels", and "I think that special price reductions for old consumers are not enough" were high. In the survey, it was determined that the pre-purchase behaviours of older consumers vary depending on the education status and monthly income; purchase behaviours vary depending on the monthly income; post-purchase behaviours vary depending on the education status; and their views on the market vary depending on gender (p˂0,05).