The Growing Market for Bigger Buttons

When I read this article in the New York Times I didn't know whether to cringe or shout hurray.

It's a common cry of us more senior (by age) consumers to cry "why doesn't somebody print larger labels", make packaging easier to open and increase the size of the buttons and keys on electronic products. Well at long last the message is being heard and acted upon by some marketers.

The New York Times had an amusing article about this subject with examples of companies who had benefited from supplying products to customers with poor sight and reduced mobility.

Why the cringe? All the examples were of specialist retailers selling to older customers. What I hoped to see were examples of market leading consumer products companies changing their design and packaging to reflect their aging customer base.

Have a look at some of these retailers. Senior Shops is a typical store. One of their most popular products is a cordless phone for people with hearing and vision difficulties. It amplifies a caller's voice and has large lighted numbers for dialling. Other popular products include low-cost gadgets for the kitchen (ie jar openers)

Another company is Dynamic Living ,an Internet-only retailer. One of their most popular sellers is offset hinges that allows a door to be opened a couple of inches wider for wheelchairs and walkers. Gold Violin (an interesting name) says one of their biggest sellers is the 'Secret Agent Walking Stick', which has a built-in flashlight and pill compartment. Big-button remote-control devices for televisions are also selling by the container load.

The success of these companies demonstrates the demand for 'age sensitive' products. Unfortunately, they are still something of a novelty and have not made it past the specialist sales channel. The breakthrough will come when P&G and Unilver take account of the needs of seniors; not motivated by their social conscious but by the potential competitive advantage they can achieve.