At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we began to monitor the value of some of these AAL solutions and the impact the virus has on the ageing population. We are continuing this work, in order to assess the effect of the continuing pandemic – which is significant.
The seven AAL solutions presented above with significant increases in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic are now available in 10 countries – Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Latvia and Russia. All of them have also plans to expand into new countries, such as the UK and Belgium as well as the US, Australia and China.
Most companies report a shift in how their business operates, from a predominantly B2B model to one that sells more and more directly to the end users, mainly older people and their families at home. This is seen as a long-term shift, which will continue to grow, as indicated by everyone we spoke to. There is increased confidence across this wide range of businesses that their relevant markets are set to grow exponentially over the next 10 years.