AGE-DIFFERENCES IN CONSUMERS SEARCH FOR INFORMATION - PUBLIC-POLICY IMPLICATIONS

We investigated whether consumers in their sixties (or older) can use nutritional information as accurately as younger consumers in a pair o f studies, the first conducted in a supermarket setting, the second in a laboratory. Both studies indicate that, when shoppers are instructe d to select a cereal according to specific nutritional criteria, elder ly subjects are less likely than younger subjects to search intensely and to select an appropriate cereal. In the laboratory setting, howeve r, the age-related differences diminished when subjects wrote down all the nutritional information acquired during their search. Age-related changes in information-processing ability may explain the findings. I mplications for public policy are discussed.