Elderly Segmentation, Acculturation to Global Consumer Culture, and Consumption Pattern in Thailand
Keywords:
New Age Elderly, Acculturation to Global Consumer Culture, Consumption Pattern; Experiential Consumption, Consumption ValueAbstract
This study aims to explore the characteristics, segmentation and consumption patterns of the elderly population in Thailand. One thousand and two hundred respondents were sampled. By employing the mclust statistic package in the R program, a more in-depth classification of the elderly population was suggested as an expansion to the previous research findings regarding only the new age and traditional elderly groups. The result suggests five segments, including the new-age, unadaptable affluent, trend-following middle class, complacent middle class, and impoverished elderly groups. The consumption patterns of fifteen products from all the elderly groups were also investigated. Each elderly group has a different consumption pattern from among the material-utilitarian, material-hedonic, experiential-utilitarian, and experiential-hedonic consumption values. Promotion of the traditional elderly group to the new-age elderly group is beneficial to maintaining economic growth in an ageing society. Managerial implications for the government and the private sector with respect to each type of elderly group are proposed.
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