Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the problems of older consumers and to collect basic data for developing consumer edu- cation programs for older people. First, I analyzed about 513 per- sons over sixty years old who seeked advice about their problems in the Consumer Center in Okinawa prefecture for five years from 1981 to 1985.
Then I interviewed 161 older persons who live in Naha City about door-to-door sales, What the door-to-door salesman came with were over twenty kinds of goods and services. The three major commodities the respondents bought were feather quilts, magnetic or healthy mats and health foods. Based on the research, the features of older consumers indicated the following six points:
1. They have an uneasy feeling about the state of their finances. 2, They have an uneasy feeling about their health.
3. They have a handicap when they read a label, warranty or
contract,
4. They do not have the flexibility to accept new goods and
services.
5. They can not utilize new systems like credit or computer
networks.
6. They are not fully conscious of their own consumer rights.
