Virtualisation of consumer behaviours of Polish seniors

Abstract

Skilful use of the Internet allows contemporary consumers to take full advantage of the civilisational, cultural, social and economic achievements to date. The use of modern technology and the Internet is undoubtedly a great opportunity for modern households to raise their living standard and quality of life, increase professional mobility and develop intellectually. These trends are also followed by seniors. However, due to the rapid development of ICT, some seniors who use computers are lagging behind the technological development, using mainly obsolete applications. This, in turn, means that seniors use the Internet to search for information about products, shop online or use online banking services in the virtual world less often than other age groups. The aim of this article is to provide an insight into how consumption virtualisation affects consumer behaviours of Polish seniors. The structure of the article is as follows. After a brief introduction, the first section explains consumer behaviours and, consumption virtualisation as an alternative consumer trend and discusses the availability of the Internet among Polish consumers, including the elderly. In the second part hereof, the research methodology and the research sample selection are outlined, and then the concentration is on the use of the Internet by Polish seniors and the implementation of virtualisation processes in consumer behaviours of this age group.