New business opportunities in the silver economy: The elderly toy market is on the rise

Driven by the silver economy, the market for senior toys has emerged. Products like the rebound fitness ball have become best-selling items on Taobao. In the past year, the search volume and transaction volume of elderly-friendly toys on the platform have increased by 121% and over 70% respectively compared with the same period last year. 

Toys for the elderly have become a new favorite in the silver-haired market: Consumers purchase educational toys to help the elderly relieve boredom and prevent cognitive decline. They are also widely used in institutions such as nursing homes. Taobao will create a new category of "age-friendly toys", covering over 20,000 products. Many enterprises have made their moves in this field. For instance, Zhejiang Yunhe Enterprise has developed over a thousand types of elderly educational wooden toys, and some of its products have been exported, resulting in a significant increase in sales. 

However, there are pain points in the market: Some "senior toys" are actually children's toys with different labels without any adaptation for the elderly. They have problems such as inappropriate sizes, complex rules, and excessive movement ranges. Moreover, there is a lack of offline channels, which leads to a poor user experience for the elderly and a structural imbalance between supply and demand. 

Regarding breaking the deadlock, the following suggestions are made: Mobilize social resources to popularize toys and games for the elderly and cultivate professional instructors; Toy design should meet the health and social needs of the elderly. Establish a "product + service" model, integrating community activities and short video promotion; Explore the construction of toy/game parks for the elderly; Expand the age range suitable for products by leveraging AI technology. Many places have carried out relevant explorations.