The Importance of Consumer Market Interactions as a Form of Social Support for Elderly Consumers

Elderly consumers are often without adequate social support. Shopping habits may have significant implications for these consumers' mental and physical welfare. When shopping is seen, at least partly, as a social activity, consumer-market interactions become a widely available substitute for tr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of public policy & marketing 1996-03, Vol.15 (1), p.108-117
Main Authors: Kang, Yong-Soon, Ridgway, Nancy M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Consumer advertising
Consumer behavior
Consumer protection
Consumer psychology
Consumer research
Consumers
Consumption
Health Issues
Health psychology
Hypertension
Hypotheses
Interdisciplinary aspects
Marketing
Mortality
Older adults
Older people
Psychologists
Public policy
Relationship marketing
Researchers
Shopping centers
Social interaction
Social isolation
Social psychology
Social research
Social support
Stress
Studies
Wellbeing
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Summary:Elderly consumers are often without adequate social support. Shopping habits may have significant implications for these consumers' mental and physical welfare. When shopping is seen, at least partly, as a social activity, consumer-market interactions become a widely available substitute for true or traditional social support. By introducing the century-old social support literature and integrating it with more recent consumer behavior and relationship marketing literature, the authors propose a conceptual framework that delineates the consumer health implications of shopping behavior. On the basis of this diverse literature, they propose several testable propositions. Additionally, they discuss public policy implications and future research directions.
ISSN:0743-9156
1547-7207
DOI:10.1177/074391569601500110