Ageing and digital shopping: Measurement and validation of an innovative framework

Abstract

Senior citizens are the fastest growing demographic in the world. Amid an intensification of digitalisation across every sector, evidence suggests older people are slow to adopt and use many online tools and services. Moreover, despite studies showing differences in the online behaviour of older people compared to the rest of the population, established models specifically dedicated to explaining their behaviour have remained limited. Therefore, based on components of UTAUT, we propose a new conceptual model that specifically focuses on senior citizens. We introduce four new constructs: health needs, place of settlement (rural/urban), perceived trust, and perceived risk. Data were collected from 320 seniors in Russia and a structural equation modelling was used for data analysis. With a cumulative variance of 86%, the test and validation results demonstrate that our proposed model provides a better explanation of older people’s online shopping behaviour than the original UTAUT model. This model provides an important framework for future studies on the digital shopping behaviours of seniors.