Operaciones Atómicas

Respondents were asked about purchasing food online from supermarkets as it was felt that the convenience of having food delivered might be attractive to them. Only two households out of 37 used the internet for regular food purchases. Both of these households were online for banking and both bought a variety of other goods over the internet. The most regular purchaser of food online was Joyce Ward in cohort 1 who was caring for her disabled husband, Joe, and found the facility a real advantage.

Joyce W ard: I could pay a carer, at ten pounds an hour, to go out to shop or have a taxi back to drop me at the door here but Waitrose bring it right into the kitchen. It’s all bagged up and ready for the fridge, freezer or store cupboard and now I get free delivery, I used to pay a fiver a time. (PF31-1)

In describing her ‘Fourth Age’ circumstances and the practical advantage afforded by online food shopping, Joyce Ward may have described a facility which other respondents would find beneficial in the future.

Patricia Evans, in Cohort 3, who used the internet daily for her business, provided another example of the convenience and time saving nature of occasional food shopping online.

Int. What about supermarket food?

P atricia Evans: When we are going on holiday and we are going to a cottage or something I go online and arrange for all the stuff to be delivered at the place we are going to. I have found that quite useful. It takes all the hassle out of having to cart stuff backwards and forwards. Once you get there you have got fresh milk for the tea and everything. You do it all on line, you pick your delivery slot. (PF12-3)

One other household, the Halls, had experimented with buying food for a time but had given up. They also expressed concern about non-tangibility particularly of finit and vegetables.

Int. Have you thought about using supermarket online shopping?

Edw ard Hall: Mmm. Yes. We did for a while. I quite enjoyed it. Doris didn’t like it so much. One point she made against it. A strong one I think, is that if you are going for finit and veg then you can’t see what the condition is. You can’t see what they are like. You can’t feel them. And we did make one bad mistake when we were doing it. We thought we were asking for six bananas and it turned out that the units were six kilo’s, [both laugh]So we had lots of bananas to munch our way through and Doris feels once bitten twice shy about that [both laugh] (PM17-1)

It would appear that very few Third Age respondents take advantage of the full capacity of the internet for shopping preferring to use ‘real’ shops for many types of goods. The problem of tangibility was a particular issue for those considering using a food shopping service. However the respondent who made most use of online food shopping was the ‘Fourth Ager’ Joyce Ward who was confined to her home through the illness of her husband and would normally have had to pay a carer to shop for her. She found that having her weekly food order delivered directly to her house and into her kitchen was a great convenience and easily overcame any disadvantages.

7.5. Summary

Third Age respondents as consumers, when discussing the purchase of various goods and services, demonstrated a number of characteristics. The purchase of a new car, for example, revealed that respondents, in all cohorts, were very strongly opposed to the use of credit for the purchase of goods. They were concerned not to pay interest on a debt which was

considered unnecessary as most respondents had established a savings fund which was intended for purchasing the more expensive household goods.

Although respondents were prepared to use suppliers and services which they thought might provide an advantage in terms of cost they were highly critical and discerning as consumers and were suspicious of anything which might be construed as deceit. The example of the deregulation of services and the invitation to extend guarantees illustrated this point. It was noted that their strength as discerning consumers was supported by an income which allowed them to decide the basis on which they purchased products and was further supported by their life course experience and their professional and managerial expertise acquired whilst employed.

Although the advantages of online shopping are recognised, most respondents used it periodically for purchases which could more easily be obtained from an internet based company or provided a financial advantage such as the early purchase of a train or airline ticket. Many respondents had also exploited the information and product comparison provision that is offered by internet commercial sites. Further concerns included the lack of tangibility of the product when buying material goods and food online but some respondents also expressed concern for the preservation of local services which the use of online retailers appeared to undermine. As online shoppers the suspicion of deceit and wariness of fraud was quite prominent in some responses. However when online purchase appeared to be the most convenient and cost effective method of obtaining a product, respondents increasingly used

that option. One respondent, now in her Fourth Age, demonstrated that online purchasing (especially of food) could be an advantage in later life if personal mobility was reduced through incapacity.

Chapter 8. Managing income and retaining wealth in retirement