The Development Report of China's Elderly Products Industry shows that the market size of elderly products in China has grown from 2.6 trillion yuan in 2014 to 5.4 trillion yuan in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.3%, becoming an important support for the silver haired economy.

Wang Yongchun, an expert member of the National Committee on Aging and the full-time deputy secretary-general of the China Aging Industry Association, released a report.

  This report systematically analyzes the current development status and future trends of the elderly products industry.

The market size continues to expand

Wang Yongchun introduced that this report defines the elderly products industry as a manufacturing industry that provides elderly clothing and accessories, daily auxiliary products, elderly care products, rehabilitation training and health promotion aids, and aging friendly environment improvement products for the elderly as service objects. The research object of the report is based on more than 3000 products in the "Catalogue of Elderly Products Promotion" released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The promotion catalog released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology focuses on six service scenarios: elderly clothing and accessories, daily auxiliary products, elderly care products, health promotion products, aging friendly home products, and aging friendly environment improvement products.

From the overall trend, the number of products selected for the promotion catalog of elderly products is rapidly increasing. Wang Yongchun stated that the total number of products selected in 2022 was 216, which increased to 324 in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 50%. In 2024, the number will further increase to 354, a year-on-year growth of 9.3%. The cumulative growth of 63.9% over the past three years reflects the continuous expansion of the elderly products market and the increasing government support.

During the growth process, different product categories showed significant differentiation. Wang Yongchun introduced that there are three major categories of key driving products: one is care assistance products, with an increase of 290%. The second is health products, with a growth rate of 175%, and the third is assistive products, with a growth rate of 125%. These high growth areas align with the rigid demands of an aging society.

From the perspective of regional distribution, the development of the elderly products industry shows a highly concentrated characteristic. Wang Yongchun pointed out that the development of elderly products in China can be divided into three tiers. The first tier consists of Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, which account for 53% of the total number of projects in the country, with highly concentrated regional development. Guangdong Province, with 174 items accounting for 19.5% of the total, is far ahead and has consistently ranked first for three consecutive years.

The second tier includes central and western provinces such as Hebei, Henan, and Hunan, with a relatively fast growth rate. The third tier regions such as Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Guizhou, and Ningxia have relatively few projects, and some areas have had no projects for three consecutive years, so we need to be alert to development blind spots.

Outstanding performance in segmented fields, emerging potential gradually emerging

In the analysis of key categories, care assistance products have consistently ranked first for three consecutive years, while health products and mobility aids have grown rapidly.

Wang Yongchun stated that the growth of health products and mobility aids reflects the need for continuous improvement in elderly health management and mobility assistance. At the same time, emerging potential products have also begun to emerge, including service robots and new lighting products. This type of product is beginning to take shape, in line with the policy orientation of smart elderly care, and may be a new growth point in the future.

In addition, the report also focuses on analyzing two highly relevant sub products in the elderly products industry: adult diapers and assistive devices. In the field of adult incontinence products, factory sales reached 15.63 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%; The net export value was 5.79 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.2%. The auxiliary equipment industry achieved a total sales revenue of 25.88 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 8.46%, and a total industrial output value of 29.633 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.56%.

Wang Yongchun pointed out that in terms of profitability, the asset return rate of the auxiliary equipment industry in 2024 is 6.9%, and the sales profit margin is 12.9%. The industry has strong debt paying ability, with a total debt ratio of 27.93%, which has been controlled within 30% in recent years. He said that there is no business that is debt free. From this perspective, the industry's debt paying ability is still relatively strong, and there is also a lot of room for future development.

Looking ahead to the future, Wang Yongchun believes that the elderly products market is undergoing a transformation from a basic demand oriented model to a technological and specialized one. Especially with the deepening of aging, rehabilitation aids and smart wearable devices may become the main growth force in the next stage.

Therefore, Wang Yongchun suggests that from the perspective of corporate strategy, relevant companies should focus on high growth areas such as care assistance and health technology, and increase research and development investment; Focus on smart elderly care, such as policy support and innovative categories for service robots and smart homes. On the government policy side, relevant departments need to strengthen the standard setting of segmented markets and guide the standardized development of industries; Suggest implementing tax incentives to encourage enterprises to develop niche and essential products.

Content source: New Beijing News