AGEING IN (MARKET)PLACE: UNDERSTANDING WET MARKETS AS A SHOPPING MODEL FOR OLDER ADULTS IN SINGAPORE'

Abstract

Shopping in Singapore has often been described as a type of cosmopolitan behaviour which is typically observed in Orchard Road. However, little research has been done on shopping at wet markets in Singapore, which cater mostly to older adults in the community. To fill this gap in the literature, this study aims to explore wet markets in Singapore to understand how it serves older adults from a sociological perspective. The study undertakes two approaches. Firstly, it systematically compares characteristics of wet markets with that of other markets such as supermarkets, online shopping sites and cosmopolitan shopping through content analysis of various textual and visual documents. Then, it investigates how wet markets function as a shopping model specifically for older adults through participant observation and interviews with older adults at the sampled wet markets. This study shows that the wet market serves older adults by (1) facilitating the identity-making of older adults, (2) serving as a ‘market-in-place’ for older adults to live in a familiar and friendly environment, and (3) creating a social space for them to maintain their social networks in later life. These findings underscore the importance of wet markets in the lives of older adults in Singapore, which has important policy implications. This include understanding wet markets’ potential to complement other shopping types, the need to preserve wet markets in Singapore and to improve the regulation of hygiene practices in the wet market as it potentially serves as a public health risk.