Sales response of elderly consumers to point-of-purchase advertising

Elderly consumers currently constitute about 12% of the American population and represent a $500 billion market. Despite the size and wealth of this consumer segment, available information on the media habits of the elderly is scant. Research was undertaken to fill the knowledge gap in the area of elderly consumer attitudes toward point-of-purchase (P-O-P) advertising. The reactions of shoppers judged to be 65 or older toward models used in P-O-P displays that advertised coffee, an age-neutral product, were assessed. Findings show that the age of the advertising models had no effect on the purchasing behavior of the elderly shoppers studied. This suggests that it is not always necessary for advertisements to feature elderly models for products to sell to elderly consumers.