More than 80 percent of older participants in a survey said they felt discriminated against when shopping, the Consumers’ Foundation said yesterday.
Taiwan is to become a super-aged society by 2025, presenting an estimated NT$23 billion (US$716.4 million) in business opportunities for companies catering to older people, the foundation told a news conference in Taipei.
The foundation therefore conducted a poll among people aged 50 or older to gauge attitudes toward older shoppers, including service, shopping environment, products, accessibility and more, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Consumers’ Foundation
Of the 723 respondents to the online survey, nearly 90 percent said that they encountered products that made them feel discriminated against based on their age, the foundation said.
Product descriptions were mentioned by most of those who felt discriminated against, with 97 percent of them saying that many labels are hard to read, it said.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents reported feeling somewhat or strongly discriminated against in Taiwan’s consumer culture, with more than 60 percent feeling labeled as “out of touch” with fashion, or needing nutritional supplements or health-focused appliances.
“How is this not a stereotype? In the next 20 years, Taiwan’s population pyramid is to become inverted, with more people aged 50 or older than below 50,” said Wu Chun-cheng (吳春城), chairman of the Strong Generation organization, which seeks to promote dignified aging.
Wu called on businesses to rethink their approach to older people.
Catering better to older shoppers would create a “win-win situation” for businesses and consumers alike, Wu said.
Some tourist agencies exclude people aged 50 or older, but especially with advances in medicine and technology, age is no longer an indicator of a person’s fitness, the foundation said.
In clothing stores, many clerks assume older customers are buying products for a younger family member or friend, it said.
“When more than 80 percent of older people have experienced ageism when shopping, it is an issue worth considering,” foundation chairman Terry Huang (黃怡騰) said.
“One in five people is to be older than 50 by 2025,” Huang said, urging businesses to focus more on “consumer equality.”
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