Aging in Place

Clever marketing play.   Is there enough in it?

Lowe’s wants to help customers age in place, with expert comments

Dec 23, 2021,  by Matthew Stern

Lowe’s recently formed a two-year partnership with AARP to provide strategies and information for older adults aging in their homes.

“For the past 18 months, the home has increased in importance for all of us and perhaps especially for our baby boomer customers, who are increasingly interested in aging in place in their own homes,” said Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison on the retailer’s third-quarter conference call.

AARP will provide the Lowe’s Livable Home initiative with educational content, including stories and videos, to help people make major and minor changes to living spaces that will make stairways more navigable, bathrooms and kitchens more user-friendly and support family caregivers seeking to make home updates.

Mr. Ellison said the partnership would offer solutions such as “walk-in bathtub, grab bars, stairlifts, nonslip floors, pull-down cabinets and wheelchair ramps.”

The partnership comes as pandemic-related cocooning in the U.S. inspired a huge number of households to tackle DIY home improvement projects.

AARP survey data also shows 70 percent of people 50 and older want to remain in their current homes as they age. In addition, households headed by people age 65 and older are expected to grow from 34 million to 48 million in the next 20 years, according to the Urban Institute.

“People are living longer and they want to live their best lives at every age,” said AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins, in a statement. “Ageless homes that work for older adults are good for people of all ages, but most houses weren’t built to support our needs long term.”  .....'