A variety of well-worn tropes dominate discussions about why the over-fifties are often slow to adopt assistive technology. Older people are charged with showing a Luddite-like resistance to new ways of doing things, reluctant to accept that they now represent the primary market for products that they may have previously associated with disability and illness. After a lifetime of caring for others, it can feel self-indulgent to splash out on equipment that promises to make their own lives easier, especially when it comes with a hefty price tag. 

As reported in last month’s dispATches, a new white paper confounds some of these assumptions and throws a spotlight onto the failures of the assistive technology sector to respond to the needs of their customers. A study commissioned by Accord Marketing that probed the behaviour of customers in the over fifties mobility market found that customers are savvier and more discriminating than many suppliers tend to assume. 

Unfulfilled demand

As with any other key purchase, respondents valued honesty from companies and were careful to make informed choices. The most cited reasons for buying from a company were excellent customer services, product quality and the use of discounted offers and fair prices. Shoppers were also heavily influenced by recommendations from family and friends and information available online, including on social media. 

The findings resonate with other surveys that show the baby boomer generation has a great appetite for new technologies where their benefits have been clarified and are likely to consider the private purchase of assistive living equipment for themselves and their loved ones. 

However, manufacturers, suppliers and retailers are ill-equipped to cater to everyday consumers. Most businesses only sell through business-to-business contracts with health and social care services. These privileged arrangements have produced a legacy of captive markets that are often commanded by a handful of major players with little incentive to look beyond their core clientele. 

Know your customers

In a study published in 2016, Professor Gillian Ward of Coventry University and colleagues found that businesses operating in the field of assisted living technology lacked a basic understanding of the needs of older consumers and the size and make-up of the market. The research also uncovered evidence that companies tended to overestimate the impact of other people’s negative attitudes on consumers and did not pay enough attention to other concerns such as the reliability, design, safety and cost of running a product, its complexity and sensitivities around information disclosure.

The industry must stop blaming consumers for their apparent lack of enthusiasm and become better advocates for its products and services. It can start by establishing national standards for more products to reassure people that they can be confident of the quality of their purchases. Firms should also heed buyers’ expectations of a robust retail experience with outstanding customer service, opportunities for hands-on demonstrations and try-before-you-buy offers and money-back guarantees.

Demand for assistive technology among older people is significant and growing. The sector must strive harder to meet it.     

This article was originally published in the January 2018 edition of the dispATches newsletter about technologies that empower disabled and older people to be more independent – circulated by Designability. Click here to subscribe