Brand purchasing by older consumers: An investigation using the Juster scale and the Dirichlet model

Marketers are becoming more aware of the growing importance of older consumers. In this paper the brand purchasing behavior of these consumers is investigated. The procedure uses Juster-scale purchase probabilities of brand choice as inputs to a Dirichlet model, enabling brand performance measures to be analyzed across age groups (< 40 years, 40–59 years, and 60–74 years). This approach is recommended for circumstances where it is too costly, too time-consuming, or too difficult to collect consumer panel data. The procedure is used to analyze purchasing in four contrasting types of product category that are representative of repertoire, subscription and mixed markets. Findings show age-based differences in product category purchasing, which impact on within-category brand purchasing (for instance, in terms of opportunities to buy more than one brand). However, patterns of buying between brands within a product category do not reveal marked age-based differences and leading brands tend to be leading for all age groups.