HUNTLEY – For almost ten years, and with the help of the Huntley Area Public Library Friends Foundation, professor of marketing at UCLA, Dr. Aimee Drolet Rossi, collected data for her research into the “aging consumer” to determine, among other results, how aging affects a person’s decision-making process, and in turn, how that impacts a person’s buying patterns in today’s market place.
The results are both in depth and sometimes contradictory to commonly accepted beliefs that memory and decision-making abilities worsen with age, especially in people (or consumers) over 60.
On Wednesday, May 4, Dr. Drolet Rossi discussed her findings with audiences at Pinecrest restaurant through her seminar “Spending Patterns & Buying Smart.” Proceeds of which benefitted the HAPL Friends Foundation, who through various means support library efforts and programs.
“The talk focused on the changes that people have over [their] lifespan,” said Dr. Drolet Rossi.
Dr. Drolet Rossi chose to anchor her research through HAPL Friends Foundation because of the library’s proximity to Sun City. Surveys were issued to willing participants (Huntley and Huntley-area library patrons who fit Dr. Drolet Rossi’s age demographics for her study) who were provided with a small payment, which most participants, Dr. Drolet Rossi said, donated directly to the HAPL Friends Foundation.
The culmination of her study is, Dr. Drolet Rossi said, her new book “The Aging Consumer, Perspectives from Psychology and Economics,” which she also discussed at her May 4 presentation. (Dr. Drolet Rossi’s book is currently available for $39.95 at Amazon.com or loan it at the Huntley Area Public Library.)
“In terms of scientific contributions, their [the HAPL Friends Foundation’s] participation has resulted in a lot of interesting findings about consumers and what happens to them as they age,” Dr. Drolet Rossi said.
“The Aging Consumer” is co-written by various economists and psychologists and, said Dr. Drolet Rossi, appeals to both consumers and business owners, as it broaches topics such as how to rationally plan for retirement and how marketers should brand their products to appeal to consumers as they age.
Some of Dr. Drolet Rossi’s research on the aging consumer concluded that, although memory deficits become more prevalent in the aging person, people are better able to deal with negative emotion in their senior years and are wiser, which both influence the aging consumer’s decision-making process. Her research also showed that aging consumers respond better to emotionally charged advertising than straight fact advertising.
Dr. Drolet Rossi said that much of past data on the topic of aging consumers is unreliable, as it was collected through research conducted on individuals who have aged unhealthily or are living in negative or depressive environments.
“A lot of what we think we know about older adults is based on samples of people who are not really [healthy],” Dr. Drolet Rossi said. “The unique thing about the Huntley Library is you’re getting a group of people who are intellectually curious and smart. You end up with a very different picture of what happens to people as they age. They do well. Their decision-making skills are largely intact and often better.”
