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The elderly service industry is emerging in China. The Chinese government introduced a series of policies to guide elderly service enterprises to improve their service quality. This study explores novel differentiated subsidy strategies that not only promote the improvement of service quality in elderly service enterprises but also alleviate the financial burden on the government.

Evolutionary game and Hotelling models are employed to investigate this issue. First, a Hotelling model that considers consumer word-of-mouth preferences is established. Subsequently, an evolutionary game model between local governments and enterprises is constructed, and the evolutionary stable strategies of both parties are analyzed. Finally, simulation experiments are conducted.

The findings indicate that local government decisions have a significant influence on the behavior of elderly service enterprises. Increasing the proportion of local governments opting for subsidy strategies helps incentivize elderly service enterprises to improve their service quality. Furthermore, providing differentiated subsidies based on the preferences of the customer base of elderly service enterprises can encourage service quality improvement while reducing government expenditure. The findings offer valuable insights into the design of government subsidy policies.

Compared with previous research, this study examines the role of consumer preferences in a differentiated subsidy policy. This enriches the authors’ understanding of the field by incorporating neglected aspects of consumer preferences in the context of the emerging elderly service industry.

The purpose of this study is to review scholarly research on elderly consumers’ information processing and suggest implications for services marketing.

The review encompasses a five-decade period (1970–2018) of academic research and presents relevant literature in four main areas related to information processing: sensation, attention, interpretation and memory.

The study illustrates how each of the aforementioned phases of the information processing activity may affect how elderly individuals buy and consume products and services, emphasizing the need for a better comprehension of the elderly to develop effectual marketing strategies.

The study provides readers with detailed state-of-the-art knowledge about older consumers’ information processing, offering a comprehensive review of academic research that companies can use to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts that target the elderly market.

The purpose of this research was to examine the four aspects of approach‐avoidance behavior (physical, exploratory, communication, performance and satisfaction) of older apparel consumers (those aged 65 and over). This research also examined the differences in age and shopping orientations relative to the importance of retail store attributes. Participants were 208 older consumers residing in the Southeastern part of the USA. Survey results revealed that older consumers preferred to shop department stores and mass merchandisers for clothing. These consumers reported they would spend more time and money in retail stores that offered credit, discounts for those 65 and over, and liberal return policies. Furthermore, they reported they would not return to and would avoid looking around in retail stores without chairs or benches, with difficult to find items, inferior products, and poor business practices. No differences were found in the age of older consumers relative to the importance of store attributes and shopping orientations. However, differences were found in the shopping orientation groups relative to the importance placed on store attributes.

This study aims to investigate how Internet services can improve the well-being of elderly consumers. Drawing on transformative service research (TSR) and technology adoption literature, it examines the main challenges for the elderly when adopting Internet services and how they and their family members can co-create value to improve the elderly service inclusion and well-being.

A qualitative methodology is used to identify challenges, value co-creation behaviors and well-being outcomes of elderly individuals and their family members when using Internet services. The data collection method involved 24 in-depth interviews with consumers over 75 years of age and their family members.

This research first recognizes specific challenges for the elderly in adopting Internet services related to resistance to technology adoption and health impairments. Second, the findings identify value co-creation behaviors held by elderly consumers of Internet services: learning and formal training, complying with indications and seeking help when they encounter problems with technology. Family members also contribute to elderly well-being through two value co-creation behaviors: helping and supporting elderly relatives with technology and being patient and tolerant when they need support. Finally, these behaviors are found to influence five dimensions of elderly consumers’ well-being: enjoyment, personal growth, mastery, autonomy and social connectedness.

This study addresses a gap in the literature by exploring the value co-creation behaviors of elderly consumers of Internet services and their family members for improving well-being outcomes. Understanding value co-creation and well-being for elderly consumers of Internet services is an emerging and under-researched area in TSR and service inclusion literature.

Suggests that a significant trend affecting American society today is the dramatic rise in the number of persons aged over 65. Consequently, retailers are interested in knowing how this segment can be best served in the marketplace. Outlines a study which utilized person perception theory to examine how retail sales personnel’s perceptions relate to elderly consumers’ satisfaction. Results indicate that elderly consumers viewed older sales personnel more positively than they viewed younger sales personnel. Also reveals that retail sales personnel’s perceptions of elderly consumers’ marketplace preferences and satisfaction were significantly different from those reported by elderly consumers. In addition to the theoretical implications, findings provide retailers with valuable information for improving their service to elderly consumers.

Discusses five barriers to new product adoption by older people. Offers marketing solutions to these barriers: sell value, communicate through children, segment the elderly market, design intergenerational products, utilize relationship marketing and promote product trial. Concludes that marketing innovations to the elderly is different than for other age groups, with a requirement to focus specifically on need, not newness.

Highlights the role of consumer education in enhancing the capacity of mature consumers to navigate the increasingly complex marketplace. Consumer education programs can provide significant benefits, including identification of market information, complaint and consumer redress procedures, and understanding a more technology‐based consumer environment. A conceptual model of the relationship between consumer education and mature consumers’ ability to manage marketplace dynamics is developed and discussed. Marketing management implications of consumer education for mature segments are posited and discussed.

It is the intent of this article to show that the elderly, an important but neglected market segment, could be a viable segment for many businesses by the criteria of accessibility, responsiveness, identifiability, and size. This market itself comprises several segments, and these segments are identified. Finally, the article focuses on actions marketers can take in the component areas of marketing mix—product, price, promotion, place, and packaging—to meet the neglected needs of this consumer group. The paper emphasizes actions that not only contribute to the welfare of senior citizens, but are likely to be profitable as well.

Demographic change is leading to an ageing of the population in the UK, but there is still a considerable debate as to whether the elderly should be treated as a distinct market segment. Previous work on the shopping preferences and activities of the elderly, undertaken mainly in the USA, has identified a number of issues relating to patronage behaviour and attitudes to store attributes. Seeks to examine some of these issues in a British context. Interviews were conducted with 838 shoppers over the age of 55 in three different shopping locations, investigating store choice and attitudes. An item of clothing was chosen to provide the shopping context. Results suggest that gender appears to be a more important attribute than age in determining a number of shopping traits, in particular, actual shop choice and the expressed motives for shop choice. Some general preference is evident among the elderly group for locally operated rather than nationally operated store options.

Aging is a global phenomenon for many countries, and South Korea has become the fastest aging country in the world. The purpose of this study is to identify and validate a representative typology of older Koreans based on their lifestyle and value orientations. This study also makes a longitudinal comparison of these segments in two waves using similar survey data collected in 2009 and 2017 and examines any meaningful changes that occurred during the periods.

Using survey data collected from 750 older adults living in four major cities in Korea, this study conducted factor and cluster analysis to identify lifestyle segmentation of elderly Koreans. Both descriptive and mean comparison analyses are followed to characterize the segments with relevant demographic and behavioral variables. In addition, this study makes a longitudinal comparison of these segments in two waves (2009 and 2017) and examines any meaningful changes that occurred during the periods.

Six distinctive lifestyle segments of elderly Koreans are identified. The longitudinal comparison reveals some changes that occurred during the period. The level of importance of values and things to own has been declined during the period on most of the aspects, which can be interpreted that older Koreans become more realistic and practical. The level of life satisfaction between the two periods turned out to be similar. However, satisfaction in material comfort and health has been improved during the period, which means that the perception of their financial and physical aspects has been improved over the years.

First, based on Tempest et al.’s three grey discontinuity framework (2002), the segmentation model provides comprehensive coverage of psychological transitions experienced by older people due to economic, physical and mental discontinuities with age. Second, this might be the first longitudinal study to examine the changes in segmentation over time in terms of the lifestyle of older adults. Practically, the findings of this study provide useful insights for policymakers in developing aging-related policies as well as for marketers who are interested or currently doing business in Korea or Asian consumer markets.