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Eldercare Review | Friday, April 15, 2022
Discovering what these consumers want is more important than ever.
Older adults are one of the world's greatest underserved. Those who install now will tap unmet needs and reap the rewards.
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For years, customer markets have been plagued with youth. And as the global population ages, businesses have been sluggish to adapt to the demographic switch. But globally, the 60-and-older age bracket is expected to more than double by 2050. Discovering what these consumers want is more important than ever.
This is particularly true in the emerging world, where increases in life likelihood compound the challenges of urbanization and globalization. Reducing population growth and global pressures have made it harder and harder for standard elder care to continue. Plus, seniors in the developing world stay mobile and active, so they depict a great share of the customer market than at any time in history.
Luckily for entrepreneurs, this market stays deeply underserved. "Aging in place" is a strong idea that should bolster any product or service marketed to older adults. By 2030, almost 60% of the world's population will live in cities, and an increasing share will be seniors. The World Health Organization's Global Age-Friendly Cities Lead promotes public agencies and private developers to incorporate amenities that permit older seniors to stay busy in their home communities, lowering the likelihood that healthy older adults will shift to retirement villages.
Stereotypes about aging have blocked businesses from making a true irruption into this untapped market. That leaves several wide-open gaps just waiting for the right product or service. Large middle classes are fleeting toward retirement and need solutions built for self-sufficient older adults, not caricatures of seniors content to rock on the porch. Here are a few outstanding industries in which investments today are certain to pay dividends in the future.
Transportation.
Aging in place has major implications as a strategy, giving many ways for entrepreneurs to make value. Transportation is one of the most prominent sectors. If older consumers are going to abandon the convenience given by retirement communities, they'll require convenient travel opportunities to and from their current homes.
In the growing world, adults who can no more drive themselves usually face a shortage of transit options. The older a person gets, the less probable he or she is to keep driving. This gives a clear obstacle to successfully aging in place.
Smart homes.
Aging in place has increasingly evolved since the Western model of retirement communities (and nursing homes for those who require skilled care) clashes with artistic traditions about aging.
The economic gains of enrolling a parent or grandparent in such an aptitude are at odds with the cultural anticipation that elders will be maintained at the center of the family and sustained in luxury.
The field is vulnerable to an entrepreneur with a visionary solution. Innovations that simplify living at home for longer can capture huge revenue from older adults. Connected home technology will play a big role.
Services that are consciously geared toward supporting seniors to stay safe, freed, and attached are the next big step. They'll become part of an infrastructure for comprehensive independence, not seen as perks. Stairlifts and non-slip bathtubs are just two powerful precedents for these innovations. Seniors in advanced markets are ready to invest in such adjustments. As technology powers, another wave of senior-oriented products, the connected home is a spot to bet big in rising markets.
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