Seniors market presents huge future potential

By Zhang E

As China's aging population increases, so does the market for generation-specific products and as many companies are taking advantage of such commercial opportunities, many still lag behind.

At Hai Long, an electronics market situated at the heart of Zhongguancun, nicknamed China's silicon valley, in Beijing, Wang Liang chose a Lenovo A589 mobile phone for his father.

“I wanted to pick a phone that was easy to use because my father is in his 70s and does not have good hearing or eyesight,” Wang said.

Lenovo made the model specifically for the world's aging population.

The handset features large buttons and “SOS family numbers” which are easy to find.

According to statistics from the China Senior People Working Committee, the total number of seniors in China will reach 200 million by 2015 and 400 million by 2040.

At the end of 2008, there were altogether 109.6 million senior citizens 65 years old and over, equating to 8.3 percent of the total population, up 0.2 percent from 2007, according to figures released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in May.

While many industries are already capitalizing on the seniors' market, several lag far behind.

Tours for seniors, both in China and overseas, make up only 5 percent of total revenue, according to Guo Lu, a researcher from the e-commerce department of China International Travel Service.

Many seniors request package tour products that specifically cater for their age group to maximize their experience, but so far relevant products have not been developed, Guo said.

The sports industry has a similar story. Products for seniors only hold 30 percent of the market with 20 to 30 percent of total profits, according to Xiao Siyuan, sales manager at Beijing Weiling Brothers Sports Equipment Business.

Xiao told the Global Times that with the increasing number of seniors, more sports products with diversified functions are needed.

At Shanghai's largest wholesale clothes market, only one 10th of the stands sell clothes for seniors.

The majority of the clothes are fashionable and flashy, perfect for young people.

The elderly do not have much choice, said Wang Xiaoxia, who was trying to buy a blouse for her mother.

Aside from products, services such as universities of the third age, seniors' services and websites dedicated to the elderly, are just beginning to be developed in China.

An article by Fu Hongbo in a social commentary magazine, Observation and Thought, stated that if every urban senior citizen spent 6,000 yuan ($878) a year, it would amount to 270 billion yuan ($39.52 million), or 10 percent of total urban consumption.

Fu said that the potential seniors market is huge and simply waiting to be tapped into.
 

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