The influence of age perception on women consumer behavior

Abstract

Demografske promjene stanovništva čimbenik su koji sve više mijenja razmjere u Europi kao i u drugim razvijenim dijelovima svijeta. Ljudi žive duže i vitalniji su nego prije. Starenje stanovništva utječe na mnoga životna područja. Broj starijih osoba raste, a karakteristike su im bitno drugačije od onih prošlih generacija. Iz tog razloga autore je zanimala percepcija starosti kod žena starijih od 50 godina, razlike među ženama koje se osjećaju stare onoliko koliko jesu i onima koje se osjećaju mlađe nego što jesu. Istodobno, željelo se doći do podataka kako sve to utječe na njihovo ponašanje kao potrošača. U istraživanje je bilo uključeno 225 žena. Za prikupljanje podataka upotrijebili smo upitnik s pitanjima o kronološkoj starosti i percipiranoj starosti, pitanjima o 23 vrijednosti, 31 aktivnosti u slobodno vrijeme i 15 aktivnosti u sportu. Rezultati pokazuju da se više od pola anketiranih žena osjeća mlađe nego što jesu, 40% žena onoliko staro koliko i jesu i manje od 5% starije nego što jesu. Više od polovice anketiranih žena misli da izgledaju kao da su deset godina mlađe. Najviše žena misli da je čovjek star onda kada prijeđe sedamdesetu godinu života.Demographic changes of inhabitants are a factor changing increasingly the situation in Europe and other developed parts of the world. People live longer and are more vital than in the past. The ageing of population affects many areas of everyday life. The number of older persons grows and their characteristics are essentially different than the characteristics of past generations. Those were the reasons for the authors’ interest in the perception of the psychological age of women older than 50. They also focused on the differences between a group of women who see themselves as younger than their actual age and a group of women who feel older. The third field of interest was how that influence on their behavior as a consumer. A total of 225 women were included in the research. To acquire the informations we use a questionnaire, which includes questions about the chronological age against the perceived age and questions about 23 values, 31 free time activities and 15 sports activities. Results show that more than a half of the women feel younger than they really are, 40% feel as old as they are and less than 5% feel older than their actual age. More than a half of the interviewed women think they look 10 years younger. Most of the women think that a person is old when he/she is over 70