The COVID-19 pandemic left few facets of life untouched tragically in so many cases. It also had a major impact on economics and shopping habits in particular. While e-commerce emerged at a time when the children of the Baby Boomer generation, Gen X, were first logging on—before the Millennials ever had a bank card and before Gen Z was even born, perhaps even before silver surfers were to be minted—it became the domain of the younger tech-savvy users.
As the pandemic hit, Gen X and the Baby Boomers, many of whom had opted out after the dot-com bubble burst, found themselves opting back in out of necessity, especially as online pharmaceutical platforms became de rigueur for dealing with the aches and ailments of aging internet players. A study in the International Journal of Business Information Systems has looked closely at specific elements that inspire trust among older consumers, especially when purchasing medicines online. After all, this is an area of e-commerce fraught with safety concerns.
Trust in this sector is more than just a buzzword. It does not matter so much if the latest gadget or fashion accessory does not live up to expectations, but when your life-saving pills and potions fall short, well, it could be game over. It must be emphasized that for consumers who spent decades relying on face-to-face interactions at local pharmacies, for many, making the digital leap to online transactions requires overcoming a lifetime of ingrained habits.
The researchers con.
