Does Age Matter? Using Neuroscience Approaches to Understand Consumers’ Behavior towards Purchasing the Sustainable Product Online

Abstract

In recent years, online shopping platforms have displayed more sustainable products to attract consumer attention. Understanding the effect of age on online shopping patterns can provide a broader understanding of the critical role of consumer attention. Physiological measures can explain consumers’ responses to features of online shopping websites and help these companies understand the decision-making process of consumers by using neuroscience-integrated tools. When consumers browse and shop on a platform, their eyes constantly move, effectively scanning the area of interest to capture information. This study attempts to evaluate the impact of consumer age on psychological and physiological responses to online shopping platforms by using eye tracking, EEG recordings, and FaceReader software. Eye tracker data on the average duration and number of fixations and saccades indicated that the older group had fewer eye movements than the younger group. The temporal and frontal cortices of the younger and older groups showed differences in EEG activity. The research also analyzed the faces of younger and older adults using FaceReader software; the main differences occured in the happy, surprised, and neutral expressions observed. This study enhances our understanding of the psychology and behavior of younger and older people in neuromarketing research, combining noninvasive physiological and neuroscience methods to present psychological data.