Product Usability Mediates Cognitive-Purchase Relationship in Elderly Consumers: Urban-Rural Differences

Objective: This study investigates how cognitive ability affects elderly consumers' purchase decisions for home products, examining product usability as a chain mediator and urban-rural differences as a moderator. Methods: A stratified sampling survey was conducted among 1,247 adults aged 60 and above across 28 Chinese provinces. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis were employed to test the proposed model. Findings: Results demonstrate that cognitive ability significantly influences purchase decisions. Product usability serves as a significant chain mediator between cognitive ability and purchase decisions. Notably, urban-rural differences moderate this mechanism: urban elderly rely more on product usability when making purchase decisions, while rural elderly's cognitive ability directly influences their purchasing behavior. The indirect effect accounts for 78.6% of the total effect, with the chain mediation effect being statistically significant (95% CI [0.35, 0.49]). Contributions: This study extends cognitive processing theory by revealing the threshold activation and cascading amplification characteristics in elderly decision-making. The findings provide practical implications for designing elderly-friendly home products and developing differentiated marketing strategies for urban and rural markets.