Elderly people in India becoming more tech-savvy amidst pandemic: Study

Bengaluru: A study undertaken by Alserv - a tech start-up focused on non-real-estate-based assisted living services for the elderly has unveiled interesting insights into the trends observed among elderly since March 2020.

During the pandemic, Alserv launched various COVID relief initiatives for its customers, and its subscriber base grew by 500%. These initiatives helped over 300+ subscribers. For instance, the company launched 'Alserv Prime', a full-service at-home solution for everything a modern family requires. This was followed by the launch of 'COVID Care' and 'Alserv Safe-At-Home'. 'COVID Care' was launched for COVID-19 positive elderly individuals. 'Alserv Safe-At-Home' was launched during the second wave. This covers professional deep-cleaning, disinfection and sanitization services for houses post COVID isolation period.

This study is based on insights by nearly 800+ consumers across the six Indian cities -- Bengaluru, Mysuru, Chennai, Kochi and Coimbatore where Alserv has its presence.

The key findings of the study based on the city trends are the top 5 services requested by elderly across each city include home healthcare (65%), food (20 %), home cleaning (7%), plumbers (4%) and maid services (4%).

In Bengaluru, the top three leading services include healthcare (50%), home-cooked meals (30%), and cleaning and maid services (20%). In Bengaluru, the maid services are availed more regularly. In Mysuru, the top 2 leading services include healthcare (80%) and home-cooked meals (20%).

In Coimbatore, the top 2 leading services include healthcare (90%) and home-cooked meals (10%). The primarily availed healthcare services include nurses/ people who can help around the home and for food it is home-cooked meals.

In Kochi, the top three leading services include healthcare 70%, home-cooked meals (25%) and maid services (5%).

In Chennai, the top 3 leading services include home-cooked meals (40%), healthcare (40%), cleaning and home maintenance (10%) and concierge (10%). Under cleaning and home maintenance services, elderly are availing deep-cleaning services and pest control; while for concierge, they are availing driver-on-call and cab services. In the services requested during second COVID wave vs now, food and home healthcare were the most requested services during the second wave. Currently, there is surge of 4X for cooking, cleaning services and appliance repair services.

Elders become more

tech savvy

Until September 2021, only 50% of Alserv's customers used the app to pay, but now 90% customers want to use the app to pay. They find that the app gives them multiple payment options and they are able to see a snapshot of the services and the analytics help them track their spending.

Concierge-related services witness a surge

Concierge services primarily include taxi services, driver-on-call and accompany services. With lesser restrictions from the government, elders are now venturing out to meet their family and friends and using Alservs' taxi and driver services to go out more now. This service has gained more traction from September – December 2021. The Co-founder and Director, Alserv, Jagadish Ramamoorthy said, "There are around 138 million senior people in India (60 years and abover), including 71 million women and 67 million men. This age group has nearly doubled in 60 years, accounting for 10.1 percent of the overall population in 2021, and is predicted to continue to grow in the future. Kerala (16.49 percent), Tamil Nadu (13.64 percent), and Karnataka (11.46 percent) have the greatest proportions. Alserv is helping this population to live an independent life at their homes where they have lived their whole lives instead of moving to retirement/ old age homes that are typically situated farther from the city limits and are highly expensive. It's interesting to note that elderly are becoming more tech savvy and are adopting to the new normal."