The ability to ask a knowledgeable, honest salesperson who can communicate information in a jargon-free manner was an important aspect of the information seeking phase. The younger older participants were keen to see ethical selling practices, and were cautious regarding telesales, and high-pressurised home sales. Participants also stressed how they would like to be able to find comparison products and services to inform their decision making journey easily, and to ensure value for money. There were concerns that younger older consumers could be overwhelmed with information and jargon. It was highlighted that, particularly for those with higher levels of need, a neutral expert (i.e., a health or social care professional, not a salesperson) providing an advice service would be of use, to ensure the eALT purchased correctly matched the person's needs.
Although the industry representatives tended to agree with consumer views on information provision (where information should be provided and in what format), many of the representatives worked for companies who generally used a business to business model, or were used to selling directly to health services and local authorities, rather than the individual consumer. Although the industry representatives had been chosen to allow a broad spectrum of the eALT market to be represented, few had experience of marketing and selling directly to consumers. This focus on business to business, (or business to local authority selling) highlighted clear differences to the industry participants with regards to what younger older consumers required and could explain the lack of appropriate information as perceived by the consumers