The Effect of Aging in the Quality of Life and in the Consumer Behaviour

Abstract

Population aging is a worldwide phenomenon and one of the most important demographic changes of human’s history. In 2050 there will be more people older than 60 years than above 15 years old. This situation represents an enormous challenge to markets. Understanding the effects of aging and old people consumer behaviour becomes critical. Aging is a complex, heterogeneous and individual process, affecting physical, psychological and social domains of the human being. This is a marketing concern, because aging also affects consumer behaviour and decision-making. The objective of this research is to understanding elderly population behaviour, specifically if biological age and the quality of life (WHOQOL- bref) are related, the relation between biological age and exploratory buying behaviour tendencies (EBBT) and search if the two constructs are statistically correlated. The sample of 150 individuals was divided into two groups (45-64 years old and ≥ 65 years old) that had to respond to a questionnaire with two scales of analysis: WHOQOL-bref and EBBT. The study reveals the influence in physical domain of WHOQOL-bref, not identifying biological age influence in EBBT scale, neither any kind of statistical correlation in WHOQOL-bref domains and EBBT scale dimensions.