Where to purchase the product or service
Once a consumer has made the decision to purchase eALT to address a need, the key barrier at this stage was cost. However, many of the participants were less concerned about price, particularly if they felt that the product was of benefit to them and thus provided ‘value for money.’ Indeed, price may be less of a concern for people in the 50–70 age bracket who may still be working, compared to retired people living on a fixed income.
Younger older participants wished to purchase eALT at a variety of locations, including (in order of popularity): mobility stores, local shops, online shops, department stores, pharmacies, catalogues and supermarkets. They liked the idea of online shopping because it enables people with limited time or mobility to access goods and services at competitive prices. However, it was noted that not everyone between the ages of 50–70 has internet access. Further, they felt unsure about their consumer rights when returning goods purchased online and were concerned about the logistics of returns. Online shopping may also remove the option to ‘try before you buy.’ Supermarkets were favoured with regards to their accessibility and ability to purchase stock at high volume, and thus low prices. Department stores were also considered as a potential purchasing route, with participants citing high levels of customer service and ability to return goods ‘hassle free’ as advantages.
The younger older participants also stated how some people would like to purchase eALT from local shops, removing the need to travel, however, it was recognised that eALT would be expensive from such outlets, as the ability to bulk purchase would be removed. Some suggested local pharmacy chains could be a happy medium between a local provider with access to bulk purchasing, otherwise neither the younger older participants or the industry representatives could offer a solution to providing eALT in local stores at low cost. The data summarising participants thoughts regarding where to purchase eALT is summarised in Table 6.