Being Old Doesn’t Mean “All the Same”:

Abstract

It has dawned on marketers that the senior market is not a single homogeneous segment, but a diverse group of consumers, and that marketing strategies should be tailored to this diversity. However, existing research has not provided a sufficient framework for capturing heterogeneity in the senior market. In this study, we used future time perspective (FTP) and future self-continuity (FSC) as indicators of diversity in the senior market and conducted an exploratory survey among senior women. The results showed that FTP had a negative impact on purchasing activity for non-consumable goods, while FSC had a positive impact. An interaction effect of FTP and FSC was also observed, indicating that the most active consumers were “senior women who have a strong connection with their future selves, but feel that their remaining time is not long.” On the contrary, “senior women who have a strong connection with their future selves and feel that their remaining time is long” tended to refrain from financial expenditures on the aforementioned goods.

Keywords

• future time perspective
• future self-continuity
• senior marketing
• end of life planning
• time constraint