科技‖一个面向老年人的应用

Apps for the old

面向老年人的应用

Silver screens

银屏

The next big growth market for China’s tech firms

中国科技公司的下一个广阔的增长型市场

Senior netizen

老年网民

SOON AFTER dinnertime, Xiangyang Park in central Shanghai transforms into a ballroom. Loudspeakers pump out old pop songs as elderly folk sway under the plane trees. A picture of geriatric nostalgia—until you meet Ms Shi and Mr Zhou, a couple in their 70s whose enthusiasm for the waltz is matched only by that for their smartphones. Mr Zhou reads online novels. Ms Shi watches far-flung Chinese parks come alive with their own group dancing on Huoshan, a short-video app favoured by teens. Both love WeChat, a messaging app. “I can go without food, but not without my smartphone,” Ms Shi confesses.

晚饭时间刚过，位于上海市中心的襄阳公园就变成了一个舞池。喇叭里高声放着过去的流行歌曲，上了年纪的人们在法桐树下翩翩起舞。这全然是一幅老年人怀旧的场面，直到你遇见石女士（音译）和周先生（音译）。这对七旬夫妇对华尔兹的热爱唯有一样东西可匹敌——智能手机。周先生在手机上看小说，石女士在火山小视频（一个青少年喜欢的短视频应用）上看人们在中国某个遥远地方的公园里跳起广场舞。两人都喜欢微信。“我可以不吃饭，但不能不用智能手机。”石女士坦承。

She and her husband remain unusual. Less than one in three Chinese over 50 reported owning a smartphone in 2016, the latest year for which the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank, has data, half the share in America. A survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Tencent, which owns WeChat, found that only 17% frequently paid for purchases with mobile phones; close to half had never done so.

这对夫妇仍是少数派。在2016年（智库皮尤研究中心有数据可查的最近年份），50岁以上的中国居民中拥有智能手机的不到三分之一，是美国这一比例的一半。中国社会科学院和腾讯（微信是其产品）的一项调查发现，这些人当中只有17%的人在购物时经常用手机支付，将近一半的人从未用手机支付过。

Tech companies want to lure more Ms Shis and Mr Zhous online—and take a bigger slice of the 7trn yuan ($1trn) that Chinese seniors are expected to spend on consumer goods in 2020. To tech firms , the disconnectedness of China ’ s 250m-odd old , or 18% of the population , is an opportunity . Unlike the young , whose fragmented attention is fought over by thousands of apps , retirees are up for grabs . And once on the internet , they splurge . In 2017JD.com, a big e-commerce firm , found that they spent 2.3 times as much as the average user . Their typical deposit in Yu ’ E Bao , an online cash-management service controlled by Alibaba , a giant internet firm , is 7,000 yuan compared with 4,000 yuan across all ages .

科技公司想吸引更多像石女士和周先生这样的人上网，想从老年人增长的消费品支出中分得更大一杯羹——预计到2020年这一支出将达到七万亿元人民币。对它们来说，中国超过2.5亿未接入互联网的老年人（占全国人口的18%）是个机遇。年轻人支离破碎的注意力有成千上万个应用在争抢，老年人则不同，大可放开手脚去争取他们。而且老年人一到了网上，花起钱来毫不手软。2017年，大型电商公司京东发现老年人的消费额是一般用户的2.3倍。而在互联网巨头阿里巴巴旗下的在线现金管理服务余额宝中，他们存放的金额一般是7000元，相比之下，所有年龄段的用户人均持有份额为4000元。

Early adopters may be better-off than a typical senior , rattled when shops refuse cash . But startups see rich pickings .“ I Have A Partner ”, a grey - dating app , debuted last year with bold fonts and voice messaging for slow typists . Tangdou Guangchang Wu (“ Jelly Bean Square Dance ”), which started out posting dance videos ( with filters to iron out wrinkles ), aspires to be a one-stop shop for the old . It reports over 200m downloads since its launch in 2015.

最早使用智能手机的老年人也许经济状况相对较好，而一般老年人到了不收现金的商店里容易紧张无措。不过创业公司还是觉得大有油水可捞。去年推出的老年婚恋交友应用“我有伴”使用了加粗字体，打字慢的人还可以用语音发消息。“糖豆广场舞”以发布舞蹈视频起步（可以加滤镜抹平皱纹），想发展成面向老年人的一站式商店。自2015年推出以来，它报称下载量已超过两亿。

The big generalists hope to lock the oldies in early . The over-60s use four-fifths of their mobile data on WeChat , against 7% for those aged 18-35. In 2017 Tencent made a video of old-timers rapping about their confusion over tech to encourage children to set their parents up with WeChat Helper , an app assistant . People over 55 are now WeChat ’ s fastest-growing cohort . Last year Taobao , Alibaba ’ s online emporium , introduced a “pay-for-me” option for elderly customers to use with family members . The site broadcasts daily over 1,000 live-streaming shows aimed at them .Ele.me, a food-delivery service bought by Alibaba last year , is trialling meal and medicine deliveries for the elderly , and one-off help with things like changing light bulbs . With the over-60s’ share of the population expected to double to one-third by 2050, there is wisdom in this strategy .