Old Consumers Learn New Tricks
By George Anderson
The findings of a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology says that people become more agreeable and conscientious as they grow older.
The author of the study, Sanjay Srivastava of Stanford University, told Reuters Health, “Many scientists believe that personality is simply an inherited trait that remains the same regardless of environmental effects. We find gradual but meaningful changes, on average. And the average trends tended to be improvements. People are getting better at things as they age. They’re not becoming grumpy old men.”
The study surveyed more than 130,000 men and women between 21 and 60 years of age.
Moderator’s Comment: How good an understanding do retailers
and other marketers really have of the consumer?
We keep hearing about companies having to refocus on the
consumer as if they had a legitimate reason for having priorities that were
higher.
There is so much consumer information available today.
Is it actually helping retailers and other marketers become more attuned to
the needs of shoppers? [George
Anderson – Moderator]