Influence of Age on Consumer’s Buying Decision-Making Styles

Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the influence of age on the buying decision-making styles of consumers in Odisha, an eastern state of India. A total of 151 respondents from four different regions of Odisha were chosen by using the Mall intercept method. The samples were classified into three groups based on their age –young adults (upto 30 years), middle-aged adults (30-45 years) and matured adults (45 years and above). Exploratory Factor Analysis was carried to identify the decision-making styles. ANOVA was employed to compare the shopping styles of these three age sub-groups. Results indicate that differences in consumer shopping styles exist among the young adults, middle-aged adults and matured adult consumers. Findings can be used by retailers in targeting different segments of shoppers based on age demography and consumer decision-making styles in order to achieve competitive advantage in the era of retail market complexity. It is recommended that different age groups should be viewed as distinct consumer segments, which may warrant differential marketing efforts.