The Maturity Report: iPad’s Forgotten Opportunity

By Ilana Bryant, Partner, Chief Strategy Officer

In a review in Adweek one year ago when the iPad launched, I forecasted the huge potential of the tablet for an unusual audience – Boomers and beyond. One year later, as the iPad 2 prepares to launch with its even more exciting camera/video features I believe iPad usage among this target will really start to take off.

The thought hit home for me as I travelled to/from Florida this week and had the following experience. On the outbound flight I was in the security line and overheard a gentleman in his late 80s with a cane and fedora turn to his wife in the line and say ‘Pearl, where did you pack the iPad?’ On the return flight I was behind a 70something couple in the security line where the wife was flummoxed by the security procedure for her iPad. ‘Harold, is an iPad a laptop computer?’ she asked. Her husband wasn’t sure how to classify it either.

And that’s the point. I don’t think it matters to these older couples what an iPad is or whether it’s technically a computer. Whatever it is, it’s just useful.  I’d argue that many of this audience have never and will never buy a laptop. 

In fact, one of my colleague’s parents has only ever owned an iPad and he caught his father recently trying to ‘expand’ his Mac laptop screen with his fingers because he assumes all screens are touchscreens like an iPad.  The far away future of information swishing at your fingertips featured in Minority Report has already become pretty natural behavior for the generation that grew up before TV let alone PCs.

Thinking about it, it’s easy to see why the iPad, and particularly the iPad 2, is well suited to a senior user. It’s intuitive and easy use – you just need to turn it on (for an example, see 100 year old woman start on her iPad).  It’s light to carry and much more comfortable to use than hunching over a laptop or PC – you can take it with you around the house, out in the garden and while you’re travelling. The expanding ‘zoom out’ feature and the video capabilities are great for an audience where too much copy can strain the eyes. And the iPad is the perfect tool to impart medical information - it has visually interactive tools, videos instead of endless copy-laden articles AND you can take it into the doctor’s office with you to show the doctor.

Also, for an audience that is theoretically enjoying leisure time instead of work, the iPad is great for consuming most entertainment formats, from movies to books.  According to blogs, popular apps among the 65+ audience include Netflix, Pandora, Solitaire, Scrabble, Grow it (I knew it about gardening) and of course the cultural phenomenon Angry Birds.

Lastly, the new iPad2 with Facetime and Skype capabilities to video-connect with their children and grandchildren is, in itself, a pretty good incentive for Boomers to invest in the tablet. They now don’t have to miss out on another birthday or milestone.

What I’m surprised by is the fact that no one seems to be chronicling or marketing to the older iPad users?  Searching the web for this blog post I was shocked I could find almost no data on 65+ iPad usership and initiatives against the audience.  (If anyone out there has any stats or data on iPad usage among seniors please share.)

I did find a great blog, Eldergadget.com, that seeks to be the ‘seal of approval’ on gadgets that suit seniors in terms of how easy they are to see, use and hear…and ‘are also cool’ (which made me like this guy as he’s not patronizing his audience).

Given the fact that the Boomer target is the largest and richest generation in America I would have expected more interest and coverage.

In my view, this is an unexplored opportunity for businesses and consumers and I hope, for my parents’ sake, there are app developers out there who have their eye on the millions of ways this tablet can serve the 65+ audience.

PPS Designers take note: As I noted from my trip there is clearly a market for iPad bags and accessories for the 65+ market, particularly something small they can sling over their shoulder.  These retirees don’t carry briefcases or laptop bags, and particularly the men (the kind who clip their cell phones to their belts) could use something useful to tote the iPad or tablet around in.