South Korea's elderly are more willing to their invest their precious time and money on enjoying themselves compared to the past.
With the shift in consumption trends, instead of being largely overlooked, the market for products aimed at the elderly is rapidly expanding.
Hong Yoo reports.
In the past, senior citizens had a hard time keeping up with the latest consumption trends,... especially in electronic devices such as smartphones.
But now, around 80 percent of people in their 60s carry smartphones,... especially ones that have been customized to be easier for older people to use.
There are many other products that have been designed to target the elderly,... who have been called the "new silver generation" in Korea.
One of these is a smartphone which has content tailored to the older generation,... such as teuroteu music and word quiz games.
Also, it comes with a pre-installed dementia prevention app... that helps users check their mental health once in a while.
It has a wide 6-inch screen and is very user friendly.
"I use smartphones to watch videos on YouTube. I watch the news with my phone and I also use Kakaotalk to chat with people."
There are also AI speakers made for elderly citizens living alone... which they can talk to and feel less lonely.
The device can detect a user's emotions when they're having a conversation.
Even though it's not a human companion, the elderly say it helps them feel less lonely.
Even more, they come equipped with games designed to prevent dementia.
Users can ask the speaker to start the quiz,... where they will have to answer 4 questions based on memorization.
"Aging well" is a term that could sum up the latest consumption trends among the elderly.
They are willing to spend more on healthy foods,... and other premium goods that are organic and eco-friendly.
"The new silver generation, people who have the money and time to invest in themselves, consume in order to reward themselves and be happy. This is called self-focused consumption."
In fact, because of the growing elderly population, the consumer market for senior citizens, excluding financial products,... is expected to reach 60-point-8 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.