银发经济背景下老年线上消费平台的供需错配问题与优化路径

Online Consumption Platforms for Older Adults in the Silver Economy: Supply-Demand Mismatch and Optimization Pathways

摘要: 在银发经济上升为国家战略的背景下，老年群体线上消费参与规模持续扩大，但平台供给与老年消费者需求之间的结构性错配问题日益凸显。本研究以老年线上消费平台为研究对象，基于信息不对称理论与前景理论，从信息、行为与技术三个维度系统分析供需错配的形成机制。研究发现：信息不对称引致逆向选择，抑制老年消费者的有效需求；损失厌恶与路径依赖在行为层面强化风险规避，降低消费意愿；数字技术门槛形成参与壁垒，限制潜在需求向实际消费转化。三类机制相互作用，共同制约老年群体的线上消费参与。在此基础上，本研究从优化平台信息供给机制、修复消费参与意愿、降低技术参与门槛及推动多元主体协同治理四个方面提出优化路径，以期为改善老年线上消费环境提供参考。

Abstract: Against the backdrop of the silver economy being elevated to a national strategy, older adults’ participation in online consumption has expanded steadily, while a structural mismatch between platform supply and elderly consumers’ needs has become increasingly prominent. This study examines online consumption platforms for older adults and, drawing on information asymmetry theory and prospect theory, analyzes the formation mechanisms of supply-demand mismatch from three dimensions: information, behavior, and technology. The results show that information asymmetry leads to adverse selection, thereby suppressing effective demand; loss aversion and path dependence reinforce risk-averse behavior and reduce consumption willingness; and digital technology barriers constrain the transformation of potential demand into actual consumption. These mechanisms interact and jointly hinder older adults’ participation in online consumption. Accordingly, this study proposes optimization paths in four aspects: improving platform information supply mechanisms, restoring consumer participation willingness, reducing technological barriers, and promoting multi-stakeholder collaborative governance, so as to provide reference for improving the online consumption environment for older adults.