Age Of Buyers Research Articles

Recognizing shopper demographics from behavioral responses in a virtual reality store

The use of virtual reality (VR) technology in the context of retail is a significant trend in current consumer research, as it offers market researchers a unique opportunity to measure purchase behavior more realistically. Yet, effective methods for assessing the virtual shopping experience based on consumer’s demographic characteristics are still lacking. In this study, we examine the validity of behavioral biometrics for recognizing the gender and age of customers in an immersive VR environment. We used behavior measures collected from eye-tracking, body posture (head and hand), and spatial navigation sources. Participants (n = 57) performed three tasks involving two different purchase situations. Specifically, one task focused on free browsing through the virtual store, and two other tasks focused on product search. A set of behavioral features categorized as kinematic, temporal, and spatial domains was processed based on two strategies. First, the relevance of such features in recognizing age and gender with and without including the spatial segmentation of the virtual space was statistically analyzed. Second, a set of implicit behavioral features was processed and demographic characteristics were recognized using a statistical supervised machine learning classifier algorithm via a support vector machine. The results confirmed that both approaches were significantly insightful for determining the gender and age of buyers. Also, the accuracy achieved when applying the machine learning classifier (> 70%) indicated that the combination of all metrics and tasks was the best classification strategy. The contributions of this work include characterizing consumers in v-commerce spaces according to the shopper’s profile.

Factors Influencing the Purchase Intention of Autonomous Cars

Even though autonomous cars have not yet crossed into the mainstream car market, their adoption seems inevitable, but not much is known about the purchasing intention of ACs and potential influences on it. To better understand the influences of various factors on purchasing intentions of autonomous cars, research using bibliometrics, an online survey and SEM modelling was performed. Based on an analysis of previous research work and the unified theory of acceptance of technology, an empirical model was produced and tested using data obtained from an online survey involving 266 individuals. The goal was to analyse which characteristics of autonomous cars, socio-demographic variables of potential buyers, and buyers’ personal and social characteristics could potentially influence the adoption of autonomous cars. The results show that factors of car safety, buyer age and level of education, perceived social influence, anxiety and performance expectancy are significantly correlated to purchasing intention of ACs, while correlations with other factors to purchasing intentions have not been proven.

Effects of a Youth-Engaging Intervention on Illegal Sales by Tobacco Retailers Near Schools in Thailand.

This study assessed the effects of youth-engaging interventions on illegal sales by tobacco retailers near schools in Thailand. The youth were educated and engaged in the planning and implementation of a program to reduce tobacco retailers' illegal sales in the Uttaradit Municipality, Thailand. Intervention components included community education, retailer education, and direct approaches to tobacco retailers. A study included a pretest-posttest control group. The 6-month intervention focused on 114 tobacco retailers. The posttest showed that the percentage of tobacco retailers violating the retail law decreased: tobacco product displays at points of sales decreased from 67.5% to 23.7%, single cigarette sales declined from 71.1% to 36.0%, and tobacco sales to minors decreased from 74.6% to 5.3%. Asking for identification or the buyer's age before selling tobacco increased from 33.3% to 78.1%. The intervention led to a significant reduction in the violation of tobacco retail laws near schools.

Prevalencia y factores asociados a la venta de cigarros a menores de edad en el Distrito Federal

To identify the prevalence of the sale of cigarette to minors in stores in Mexico City. A cross-sectional study was done applying a questionnaire to salespersons in stores that sell cigarettes. The SCINCE 2000 from INEGI was used to select and sample two Basic Geostatistical Areas (AGEB) per Delegation and a census of stores was carried out. A total of 577 stores were visited, 73% sold cigarettes to minors, 58% sell loose cigarettes, only 2.6% asked the buyer's age, and 1.2% requested identification. Among the salespersons, 51% were men, 37% had secondary school studies, 57% were smokers, 42% had children underage, and 99% knew that the sale of cigarettes to minors is prohibited. The multivariate analysis established an explicative model and it was discovered that when the salesperson was male or if the cigarettes were sold individually the probability of sale was 2 and 5 times higher respectively. The sale of cigarettes to minors in Mexico City is not associated with the personal characteristics of the salespersons or with the stores.

Are the sales practices of internet cigarette vendors good enough to prevent sales to minors?

With the emergence of Web sites selling tobacco products, there is concern that they may be selling tobacco products to minors. A 1997 report identified 13 Internet cigarette vendors and found that few asked or attempted to verify the buyer's age.1 Similarly, a study of 108 Internet cigar vendors found that only one third featured minimum age-of-sale warnings.2 The goal of the present study was to examine whether Internet vendors take adequate precautions to avoid selling cigarettes to minors. Data were collected as part of a larger study on the sales practices of 88 Internet cigarette vendors that is described elsewhere.3 Trained raters examined all pages of each Web site for minimum age-of-sale warnings and age verification and payment methods. Table 1 ▶ shows that 82% of the sites (n = 72) featured one or more age warnings that the buyer must be 18 years or older to purchase cigarettes. Age warnings appeared mostly on the home pages of the Web sites (n = 43); only one third featured a warning on the ordering page. The most common age verification method was self-verification, whereby potential buyers clicked a box stating that they were of legal age to purchase tobacco products (n = 43) or typed in their birthdate (n = 13). Only 8 sites featured the more rigorous age verification method of requiring a driver's license number that could be verified by the vendor. Only 6 Internet cigarette vendors stated that they required photographic age identification at point of delivery, the prevailing standard at retail outlets. TABLE 1 —Presence of Health Warnings and Minimum Age Verification Procedures for Internet Cigarette Vendors (N = 88) The results of our study suggested that most Internet cigarette vendors use inadequate procedures for age verification. Youths who misrepresent their age and obtain a money order could potentially purchase cigarettes on-line without difficulty. According to the State Youth Tobacco Surveys, 1.0% was the medium percentage of middle school and 1.4% was the medium percentage of high school current smokers who reported purchasing their last pack of cigarettes on the Internet.4 Similar findings were described in a study of California high school students.5 One limitation of this study was that we assessed the specified age verification methods, but these may differ markedly once orders are placed. Some sites may verify age on delivery, even though this information is not explicitly stated on their Web site. Likewise, some sites that mentioned having age verification procedures may not actually impose them. Substantial efforts have been made to prevent youth access to tobacco products from retail outlets,6–8 including laws requiring in-person photographic age verification at the point of sale.9 However, no federal laws ban the sale of tobacco products to minors through the Internet, and only a few states have attempted regulation. Rhode Island, for instance, banned Internet and mail-order sales of cigarettes without age verification at delivery.10,11 Parent-controlled filtering and blocking software is not a viable solution for restricting youth access to Internet cigarette vendors because most of these programs do not block tobacco sites12 and because none of the sites in this study were registered with parent-controlled access-filtering software sites. The findings of this study, combined with new data showing that youths are beginning to buy cigarettes via the Internet, emphasize the need for the passage and enforcement of policies to restrict youth access to tobacco products through this venue.

Handgun Purchase Trends, Washington State: Differences by Age of Buyer

See related editorials, p 77 and p 79.Study objectives: To examine trends in legal handgun purchases from federally licensed dealers and specifically to describe recent changes in age and gender of purchaser and caliber of handguns purchased.Methods: A cohort study was performed of the adult population of Washington state from 1950 through 1992 using a state dealer record of handgun sales database. The purchase of handguns from licensed dealers was expressed as the number purchased per 100,000 population per year.Results: The handgun purchase rate increased for the total population between 1950 and 1992, from 169 to 2,076 per 100,000 persons. Between 1983 and 1992, the purchase rate among men aged 21 to 24 years increased 184%; among women of this age group, the rate increased 127%. Among men aged 21 to 24 years, the rate of 9 mm handgun purchases increased 1,682% between 1983 and 1992, the greatest increase for any age-caliber category.Conclusion: The greatest increase in rate of legal handgun purchases in Washington state from 1983 through 1992 was among the youngest purchasers. Sales of 9 mm handguns increased most rapidly, especially among the youngest buyers.[Dowd MD, Grossman DC, Cummings P, Britt J: Handgun purchase trends, Washington state: Differences by age of buyer. Ann Emerg Med July 1998;32:60-64.]

The delisting of products by retail buyers

The main aim of the research reported here is to identify any patterns in the delisting behaviour of retail buyers, where a delisted product is defined as one which is removed from sale by a retailer but which continues to be sold by other retailers. The influence of the retail buyer in the marketing of consumer products has become ever more significant. Much academic research into retail buying has aimed at identifying criteria that affect purchasing decisions but few generalizable findings have emerged due to the context‐specific nature of such decision making. In this research a specific context is chosen, that of the de‐selection or delisting of products, a topic that has received little attention to date. The results of interviews with 125 buyers, working for large and small retailers, on their reasons for 290 examples of product delistings are reported. The influence of more detailed contextual variables such as the buyer's age, experience and qualification, the product type, and the source of the p...

Shopping Habits and Income: A Philadelphia Department Store Study

ARECENT study1 has been made of a cross section of all the credit customers of a large Philadelphia department store. The analysis was based on 467 personal interviews in Philadelphia County, on 320 mail questionnaires returned by patrons in the trading area outside Philadelphia, and on an examination of store records. The study has contributed new data on some fundamental problems of shopping behavior. Primary emphasis was placed on family characteristics (such as income, number of members, and age of buyers) and on expenditure data (such as number and location of credit accounts in five department stores, cash vs. credit expenditures at each, and the relative amount of total expenditures at each). Only the data pertaining to primary shopping habits and to income will be covered in this article.