Abstract
The world population ages, and older adults become a significant consumer market. This group represents an increasing portion of Internet users and thus an important part of the online consumer market. This study aims to evaluate the factors that explain the greater Internet use by the older population, a group aged 60 years or more. It used secondary data from a Brazilian survey with 1,255 individuals, representing a population of about 8.7 million, and adopted logistic regression models. The results show that older people’s frequency of Internet use is significantly influenced by household area (urban or rural), income, region of the country, and searches for information about products and services. The research supports professionals from public and private organizations regarding the influence of sociodemographic and Internet use factors, specifically for people over 60 years of age, since the frequency of Internet use by older people can be a critical success factor for developing strategies and policies.
This research consists of a combined analysis of several sociodemographic and Internet use variables, offering a comprehensive representation of reality. It contributes to the discussion on elderly inclusion in the consumer market, which is increasingly
dependent on the digital environment.
Keywords: Digital inclusion; Older people; Frequency of Internet use; Digital marketing; E-commerce.
