China’s pensioners get tech savvy as Beijing chases the ‘silver dollar’
- Retirees are keen to adopt new tech and tap into a growing range of mobile services catering to them
- And the government is urging communities to hold training sessions and developers to create elderly-friendly apps
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
Li Changming just bought a new smartphone and the 70-year-old is still a bit puzzled by the hi-tech device that China’s policymakers hope will help unlock spending by millions of older people.
Undeterred, he has enrolled on a training session that is part of the country’s plans to help its legions of pensioners keep up in a fast-developing digital economy.
“I don’t understand all the functions yet but I want to learn,” Li said, tapping gingerly at the screen.
“You’re never too old to learn.”
Showing how to shut down background apps, the teacher tried to use terms the greying students could grasp.
“It’s like the room has become too crowded, and you need to clean it up,” he said.
Beijing is pushing a years-long effort to boost domestic consumption to bring balance to an economy traditionally overreliant on manufacturing and government investment. E-commerce is a central pillar.
Together they dominate the huge Chinese online payments industry, typified by shoppers scanning QR codes to make purchases rather than use cash, which has become old-fashioned in China.
Brands worldwide are chasing the so-called silver dollar and governments also are keen to get elderly savings flowing into economies to boost growth.
But China’s ageing population offers a particularly rich opportunity.
Chinese retirees are expected to number 300 million by 2025, and Daxue Consulting values the elderly economy at about 4.9 trillion yuan (US$751.5 billion).
Beijing says 98 per cent of rural areas are now connected to 4G internet networks.
Chinese AI technology shows people age fastest in their 40s
Most retirees in China are keen to adopt new tech and tap into a growing range of mobile services catering to them.
A report by banking group UBS this year said older consumers were catching up with the younger generation.
“We can’t live without smartphones,” said Meng Li, 61, who also joined the Chengdu course and recently learned how to make mobile payments.
“I only knew how to make a call at first, but after my daughter showed me more and I joined training sessions like today, I can handle it now.”
In November the government called for a nationwide push to strengthen the ability of older people to use digital tech, urging communities to hold training sessions and developers to create elderly-friendly apps.
More than 36 million more people got online for the first time between March and June, official figures show, a raft of potential new online spenders.
Just getting around during the pandemic requires digital fluency. Public transport and many venues in China require citizens to show a health app that rates their coronavirus threat level based on recent travel and other habits.
China plans incentives to boost population growth and address ageing society: reports
Another push is China’s ongoing 10-year census that, for the first time, Beijing wants most residents to respond to online.
Still, nearly a third of the country’s 1.4 billion people remain offline.
Li and his classmates, however, have graduated to the digital world. After class, he used his digital wallet to buy chilli peppers from a market, essential ingredients in Chengdu’s famously spicy Sichuan cuisine.
He is also excited about being able to check restaurant ratings before going out to eat, and using map apps to get there.
Looking at his new purchase through his reading glasses, the silver-haired septuagenarian has plenty of plans.
“There are still many things I have to learn. Mastering photos on my mobile is my goal for the next 10 years,” he said.
