Freedonia Analyst Comments on Best Buy's Purchase of GreatCall - Offering Technology to Serve Aging Customers in their Homes

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Aug 17, 2018, 16:16 ET

CLEVELAND, Aug. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 15, Best Buy announced that it agreed to purchase GreatCall, a $300 million provider of mobile phone, PERS, and connected health devices and services to older adults. The deal, valued at $800 million, is expected to close by the end of October.

This transaction builds on Best Buy's recently announced Assured Living program aimed at using the mobile web, sensors and other digital or smart home healthcare technology to make it easier and less intrusive for adult children and other caregivers to monitor the safety of older adults living at home.

"We know technology can improve the quality of life of the aging population and those who care for them," said Hubert Joly, chairman and CEO of Best Buy. "Now, we have a great opportunity to serve the needs of these customers by combining GreatCall's expertise with Best Buy's unique merchandising, marketing, sales and services capabilities."

According to Jennifer Mapes-Christ, Freedonia senior analyst and manager of the Consumer & Commercial research unit, "The desire to age in place is one of the few issues on which individuals across age, racial, and ethnic demographics all agree. Overall, 86% of respondents to our proprietary survey strongly or somewhat agree that they wish to remain in their homes for as long as possible as they age. This belief is strongest among individuals 65 or older."

Mapes-Christ continues, "At the same time, older adults are adamant about not wanting to be a burden on their family, with only 15% of the population 65 and older expressing an expectation that their children will care for them as they age."

Mapes-Christ adds, "The largest factor driving demand for PERS monitoring and equipment is that they are gaining broader acceptance and are increasingly viewed as a necessary expense by elderly individuals who live alone. The trend of living alone is a big one in light of a general consumer preference to remain a place we see as familiar and comfortable."

Furthermore, Mapes-Christ points out, "Growth will also be propelled by rising availability of an interest in value-added services, which either make the system more useful and easy to operate, or make the system relevant to younger and more active seniors." Such upgrades include monitoring additional sensors, medication reminders, health data collection, automatic fall notification, the use of additional smart speaker type equipment throughout the home, long range transmitters for more active individuals, and monitored versions of mobile PERS (mPERS) systems.

Additional analysis of demand for PERs and related equipment and services, can be found in the following Freedonia report: Elder Care Services in the US https://www.freedoniagroup.com/Elder-Care-Services.html.

Also see Private Security Services in the US, Security Alarms Market in the US, and Smart Home Security Market in the US on Freedonia's Security Studies page.

About The Freedonia Group – The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985 we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Each study includes product and market analyses and forecasts, in-depth discussions of important industry trends, and market share information. Studies can be purchased at www.freedoniagroup.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

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SOURCE The Freedonia Group