The 2021 release of the Market Overview of Technology for Aging sharpens the focus on older adults and their technology needs in this post-pandemic year. It took the aging of the 73 million baby boomers, a pandemic emergency, and investor interest to transform a 2009 market niche into this 2021 $30 billion market category. In 2021, the market will focus less on products specifically designed for older adults and far more about marketing existing offerings as useful to them.
November revealed a growing sense of urgency about older adults. What has been the impact on them of the daily onslaught of Covid-19 statistics? What about nine months of ceaseless updates about case counts? Has this produced a permanent fear of contact with others, including families, especially on holidays? Public-private partnerships are forming to bring devices and products to older adults, now isolated for as much as 9 months. Will that help? Tech firms are trying to boost access to the internet and devices – will this become 2021 action priority for non-profits and government? And much more will be different for an older population – the real seniors, aged 75+, perhaps previously unnoticed by media. In fact, older adults have often been ignored by marketers even as boomers have all the money. Here are four blog posts from November: