ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. market for active aging technology now encompasses 85 million Americans or more than one quarter of the national population, according to a new report from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, formerly the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, and the CTA Foundation. The white paper CTA Market Report: Active Aging says the active aging market, which consists of both seniors and their family caregivers, represented a $24.4 billion market opportunity in 2015 and will grow to $42.7 billion in 2020. That is a 12 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years for tech products that support a proactive way of living that balances growing older with the active pursuit of quality of life.
“Technology is fundamentally changing the way we live – and active aging tech can dramatically improve our lives as we age,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association. “These innovative, connected technologies not only enable seniors to live safer, healthier and longer lives – whether through personal health technology or remote monitoring solutions – they also allow their caregivers to be more closely connected while they care for their aging loved ones. More, these consumer benefits can translate into billions of dollars in savings for the U.S. healthcare industry.”
According to the report, these key growth drivers will propel the U.S. active aging market:
- Baby Boomers, the Silent Generation: The U.S. is facing a retirement wave in the coming two decades – the Baby Boomer generation (roughly 76 million Americans) is beginning to reach age 65, and at the same time the “Silent Generation” is expected to live much longer than previous generations.
- Long-term Care Market Dilemma: Despite the potential boom in demand for senior care services, most long-term care service providers are dealing with rising demand amid a capacity shortage and restrained funding/reimbursement.
- Economic Incentives for Aging at Home: The high cost of institutional long-term care services makes the option of aging at home more financially appealing, among other factors.
- IoT and Smart Home: The Internet of Things (IoT) and smart home technology will simplify consumers’ lives, offer more insights about habits and behaviors related to personal health and well-being, and provide peace of mind to both seniors and their family caregivers.
- Improved FDA Transparency: In recent years at the technology community’s urging, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clarified and improved its review process, removing significant market uncertainty for device makers and app developers who are critical to developing active aging tech innovations.
“As the demographics in the U.S. and around the world shift toward an older population, technology will allow seniors to live healthier, more connected lives, and keep them more engaged with their families and communities,” said Steve Ewell, executive director of the CTA Foundation, a public, national foundation with the mission to link seniors and people with disabilities with technologies to enhance their lives. “CTA research reveals seniors in our country have a strong desire to live independently and at home. But among seniors 70-and-older, awareness of active aging technologies and how to use them is still low. Our foundation strives to help seniors understand and embrace the newest technologies available to them.”
However, seniors’ perception is validated through their adult childrens’ perspective, many of whom are front-line caregivers. Today, there are more than 40 million caregivers in the U.S. who take care of aging family members and serve as coordinators between their loved ones and the healthcare system. Opportunity abounds with technological solutions including:
- Safety and Smart Living: Includes safety monitoring using sensors, emergency response solutions and home living support services that attempt to reduce seniors’ home owner hassles.
- Health Device and Remote Care Providers: Includes personal health technology that empowers consumers to track their personal health indicators that in the past could only be collected at a doctor’s office; remote diagnostic and monitoring solutions and virtual consultation as a supplement to in-office visits.
- Wellness and Fitness Solution Providers: Includes wearable fitness activity trackers, diet and weight loss tools that encourage healthy eating and age-appropriate exercise together, and wellness monitoring tools and apps that help seniors address a range of niche wellness needs.
CTA Market Report: Active Aging was designed and formulated by CTA Market Research, the most comprehensive source of sales data, forecasts, consumer research and historical trends for the consumer technology industry, in partnership with the CTA Foundation. The complete report is free to CTA member companies at members.CTA.tech. Non-members can purchase at store.CTA.tech. CTA released the report today at the 2016 Boomer Summit.
About Consumer Technology Association Foundation:
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Foundation is a public, national foundation affiliated with the Consumer Technology Association. It was established with the mission to link seniors and people with disabilities with technologies to enhance their lives. The Foundation is focused on strategic support of programs to impact these communities and has launched its first series of grants in 2012. It also serves to facilitate dialog between industry, consumers, government, advocacy groups and other key stakeholders around important issues. For more information on the CTA Foundation please visit CTAFoundation.tech.
About Consumer Technology Association:
Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, formerly Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, is the trade association representing the $287 billion U.S. consumer technology industry. More than 2,200 companies – 80 percent are small businesses and startups; others are among the world’s best known brands – enjoy the benefits of CTA membership including policy advocacy, market research, technical education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CTA also owns and produces CES® – the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technology. Profits from CES are reinvested into CTA’s industry services.
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