Abstract
Purpose: The article presents the results of empirical research on the typology of urban silver singles’ households in Poland. The study concerned the financial situation, structure of expenditure, home infrastructure, consumer behaviour, and selected consumer trends such as sustainable consumption, smart shopping, cocooning, consumption virtualization, and consumer ethnocentrism. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on a survey questionnaire administered in two stages in 2018–2022. In the first of the planned stages, a survey was carried out on a sample of 3,167 silver singles in the period from February 1st to October 30th, 2018 and from May 1st to October 30th, 2019. The second stage lasted from March 1st to September 30th, 2021 and then from February 6th to September 30th, 2022 and covered a sample of 3,834 elderly people living alone. Following the research assumptions, the sample included persons over 65 who made independent consumption decisions on the market. This research method was chosen given the older age of respondents whose openness to new media often used in direct research is limited. Findings: To delimit the types of households run by silver singles, 24 diagnostic variables were used that characterized the structure of consumption, reasons behind consumer decisions, buying behaviour, and consumer trends followed by single seniors. The types of households managed by silver singles were identified in two stages. The first step was Ward’s cluster analysis using the Euclidean squared distance metric. That was followed by the second step involving non-hierarchical k-means cluster analysis. The final stage of consumer typology establishment was the description of the identified types, with accounts having been taken of characteristics such as gender, age, education, monthly disposable income, self-assessed financial situation, and place of residence. As a result, four types of silver singles living in cities were recognized: “prudent and pragmatic”, “active enthusiasts”, “calm and conservative”, and “withdrawn and indecisive”. The largest group includes elderly people living alone who are typified as “prudent and pragmatic” consumers, whereas the smallest cohort embraces silver singles classified as “withdrawn and indecisive”. Research limitations/implications: Given the limited financial capacity, the research underpinning the typology of urban silver singles was carried out solely in the largest Polish cities. It was not possible, however, to do that among single seniors living in rural areas. Following the conclusions made, they should not be treated as representative of the population of Polish silver singles. Originality/value: This study is the first in Poland and one of very few in the world literature that presents a typology of silver seniors based on the structure of consumption, reasons behind consumer decisions, buying behaviour, and selected consumer trends.
Published Version
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