E-commerce platform JD has worked with Chinese technology company ZTE to launch its first 5G smartphone for the elderly. The phone will make services more accessible for older generations and aims to help them live more comfortably and conveniently in China’s digital society.
Users of the smartphone can easily make emergency calls, share their location with contacts, and access remote assistance and quick medical consultancy. JD has also launched an app called “family time” which allows the user’s contacts to remind them to take medicine remotely.
The device costs 1399 RMB and will be sold on ZTE and JD’s official flagship stores from today (December 3).
JD is one of the few companies to tap into the market for elderly-accessible smartphones in China, following products from Xiaomi and Newman. While targeting the elderly with smartphones may have not seem like an especially profitable market in the past, China’s digitalisation has moved many older consumers online. China’s digital economy hit 36.2% of GDP in 2019 and it has expanded rapidly due to the impact of the pandemic this year.
Brands with an online presence have started tapping into grey consumers as COVID-19 has forced them to embrace digital technologies and e-commerce. Many older consumers have been won over by the accessibility and discounts on online shopping sites and their usage of online platforms as a demographic is growing.
