Mobile
Seniors Study, 2007
Sixty one years ago, in 1946, 3.4 million
babies were born in the U.S., an increase
of 22 percent from 1945. The birth rate
growth continued until 1964 by which
time 78 million "baby boomers" defined
a new population segment.
In 2007, the first of the baby boomers
are nearing retirement (some have already
done so of course) with many more to
come in the next decade. By 2030, when
the first baby boomers will be 84, the
number of Americans aged over 65 years
will be 69 million. In other words, 20
percent of the U.S. population will be
over 65 years old (compared with 13 percent
in 2007).
As well as presenting new challenges
for the health care system, this aging
segment of the U.S. population presents
new opportunities and challenges for
the wireless and mobile industry. In
addition to having higher levels of income
than the generation before them, the
baby boomers are also better educated
and are expected to live longer. They
have also gone through much of their
professional lives while the wireless
industry has been experiencing exponential
growth: today’s 65 year old was
40 when the first cellular system was
launched. Hence, baby boomers are not
inexperienced when it comes to cell phone,
BlackBerries and mobile devices in general.
At present, iGR
estimates that there are approximately
28 million cellular subscribers aged
over 65 years old (to be confirmed or
corrected in this study), and 24 million
aged between 55 and 64 years.
To understand the challenges and opportunities
for mobile operators with the senior
demographics, iGR is proposing a multiclient
study to research the needs, wants, concerns
and issues of the over 60 population.
Specifically, using the methodology proven
in previous studies, iGR will:
- Determine the current penetration
of mobile handsets, services, applications
and content in the “Over 60” market
segments (those aged from 60 to 85
years),
- Determine who (senior or other
family member) selected the handset
(and why), the mobile operator
(and why) and any accessories (and
why),
- Who decides which handset the
senior will use (and why), and
which features
the handset will have (e.g. camera,
music capable, GPS, web access,
push-to-talk, etc),
- Determine who (senior, other family member, or employer) pays for the monthly service cost of the mobile phone and why,
- Determine the current barriers
to entry in each segment
for those seniors who do not currently
have
a handset,
- Prioritize these barriers
and determine those that
have a critical
effect
on adoption and usage by
Seniors,
- Discuss the potential
of the Seniors wireless
applications
market, including
but not limited to messaging,
gaming, music, photos
and other data services.
Note that those over
55 years are statistically
very unlikely
to
use content applications
and services,
- Examine mobile operator
and MVNO concerns and
strategic plans regarding
Senior wireless and
mobile services,
- Provide competitive
analysis of current
Seniors solution
vendors and their
offerings,
- Specify device
requirements for
Seniors-specific
devices, including
form factor, UI
considerations, screen characteristics,
etc.,
- Determine the
details of the
Seniors value
chain, including
billing, customer
care and value-added
service considerations,
- Determine market
share of major
Seniors mobile
offers, and
- Forecast
Seniors services
and
devices in
North America.
Sponsors
of this research
will
have direct
input into:
- Wireless
and mobile
applications,
services,
devices
and solutions
that are
researched,
and
- Specific
questions
and research
areas
to be
addressed
in the
consumer
primary
research.
Study
data
and results
will
be delivered
to the
project
sponsors
as:
- Detailed
project
reports,
including
major
findings
and
recommendations,
- Periodic
teleconferences
after
the
completion
of
each
major
phase
of
the
project,
and
- Executive
Seminar at
the end
of the
study to
review the
results and
recommendations.
contact us to obtain a copy
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