Elderly Consumer Behavior: A Review and Prospects

Dong Zerui; Zhang Linjie; Fan Xiucheng

doi:doi:10.16538/j.cnki.fem.20260430.101

Summary

Population aging stands as one of the most distinctive features of contemporary China’s transformation and development. With the rapid increase in the elderly population, their consumption behavior and decision-making patterns have become key issues of concern for both academia and industry. Although research in this field has yielded some results, it remains constrained by scattered themes, a lack of focus, and unclear field status, hindering further theoretical development. Additionally, China’s population aging is marked by large size, extremely rapid pace, and uneven regional development, leaving previous research insufficient in practical implications. In view of this, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the field of elderly consumer behavior. This paper adopts a domain-based framework for literature review to conduct a knowledge graph analysis of relevant literature from the CNKI and Web of Science core databases over the period 2015–2025, systematically exploring the evolution of research hotspots and high-frequency keywords in the relevant field. Based on the TCM-ADO framework, it offers an in-depth review and summary of relevant research in the field of elderly consumer behavior from the dimensions of “theory (T) – context (C) – method (M)” and “antecedent (A) – decision (D) – outcome (O)”. Finally, based on the unique context of China, this paper outlines future research directions to advance theoretical innovation and research expansion, and to provide a solid foundation for both the development of China’s independent knowledge system and the formulation of relevant policies.