Business Responsibility in an Ageing Society
As New Zealand’s population ages, businesses are increasingly being challenged to think about their customer’s changing needs. The idea of convenience and efficiency are very different when you are 25 or 45 compared to 65 or 85.
There is a growing movement towards improving accessibility – which is not simply a compliance issue or a customer service feature, but rather a social responsibility.
Access to essential services
When banks remove branches, companies replace phone support with chatbots, or essential services become app-only, elderly people who struggle with technology can become unintentionally excluded from everyday life. For some older adults, this can mean difficulty accessing healthcare, managing finances, booking appointments, or even communicating with service providers.
New Zealand businesses who claim to provide for everyone have a responsibility to ensure their services remain accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
This doesn’t mean rejecting innovation or avoiding digital tools. Technology can improve convenience and independence for many older people when designed well, and the key is to keep all customers at the forefront of the planning and design process.
What is an age-friendly business?
Age-friendly businesses recognise that accessibility involves:
- New voice-based technologies
- maintaining face-to-face or phone-based service options
- designing websites with clear navigation and readable text
- simplifying online processes
- offering patient customer support
- training staff to assist elderly customers respectfully
- considering sensory, cognitive, and mobility challenges during design
Investing in accessibility
It can be easy to think that once ‘digital natives’ reach retirement, this will no longer be an issue. But if you’ve ever sat with an older person trying to navigate digital tools, it’s not just the UX/UI that makes it challenging. It’s the complexity of some of the tasks being undertaken, the need to remember long numbers or passwords, the fear of getting the information incorrect, and the worry that the tasks they’re completing may in fact be someone defrauding them.
These concerns and fears will not go away amongst older people, regardless of whether they were born digital natives or not. New Zealand’s ageing population represents a growing proportion of consumers, clients, and service users and you could argue this group represents strong growth opportunities.
Businesses that invest in accessibility are not only acting ethically, they are also building trust, loyalty, and long-term customer relationships. Good service design should ensure elderly people do not feel embarrassed, rushed, or left behind simply because they prefer speaking to a real person rather than navigating an app or website.
For many older New Zealanders, accessibility is not about convenience. It’s about dignity, independence, and remaining connected to society.
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