It seems it was only yesterday that I and my family (wife and two kids) looked towards the weekend for our shopping spree, followed by movies and dinner.
Then time passed unnoticed.
My children grew up and got married; my wife died, leaving me alone – too old and cranky to rummage through large and cavernous malls to buy my “things.” So I go online shopping.
Cool, huh? Nah! A lot of seniors do, too. Data gathered in 2016 showed that 82% of people aged 65 to 69 go online daily. What they do online is shown below.
Pros and Cons of Online Shopping
People have an inherent love for shopping. For some, touching, smelling and fitting rows and rows of personal items and other products is like an opiate – it gives them a “high.” Of late, however, a huge chunk of them have opted to do it in the comfort of their homes. They are the online shopping crowd – another upside of the Internet age.
But just like anything, online shopping has its Pros and Cons. Here are a few:
Pros
- It saves time – no need to travel far to buy what they want
- It saves transportation expense – this is a corollary to the above
- Online shops are open 24/7
- There’s no waiting line
- They can avoid a jostling crowd
Cons
- There’s a big delay between ordering and delivery
- No touch, smell and feel the experience
- Risk of wrong or defective product is always present and return is almost impossible
- Lack of shopping experience
- The variety of choices make decision-making difficult
Apps for Easy and Convenient Online Shopping
Seeing the potential of elderly online shoppers, businesses wasted no time in making online shopping more appealing, easy, and convenient for them by introducing the Apps – mini-software with specific applications.
There are currently more than 650 thousand online stores in the U.S. Of these, about 103 thousand are generating at least $ 12,000 annual revenue.
And since apps allow for laser-sharp marketing, it can be assumed that each one has an app.
Seniors, however, often have specific or special needs. To that end, the following are the best elderly-friendly apps in the market:
One-stop-online shop
Amazon
When it comes to online shopping, who hasn’t heard of Amazon? It is practically a by-word for online shoppers and the first choice for people who shop online.
And they couldn’t be wrong. With 25 years of experience and 606 million products in its catalog, it is easy to see why.
You can have an Amazon on your desktop by opening an account or an app on your mobile device by clicking on the word Mobile below and you’re ready to go.
For seniors, going through Amazon’s cavernous catalog may be too taxing. So if you have something specific in mind and you are in a hurry, the following apps are priceless.
Nutritious Foods
Forty-four percent of seniors going online surf for food information. You can make your search simple and fast by having these on your phone:
1. Buy Me Pie
No, this is not about pies but an app for easy online shopping of nutritious foods.
It is easy to use – just like crossing off items from your grocery list in the real-world
It has both free and premium versions, either in IOS or android
2. Seafood Watch
This app comes from the desire of the Monterey Bay Aquarium to help fish-lovers satisfy their culinary delight without fear of mercury and other toxins present in a lot of sea products.
The app classifies fish into best choice, good alternative, or avoid. And if you hunger for tuna, the app gives you 29 tuna types to choose from. The app also gives you a deeper understanding of how and why they are graded that way.
The Seafood Watch app is available both in IOS and Android, and both are free.
3. Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen is not an online store, per se, but an app made by the EWG (Environmental Working Group) to help shoppers make a better choice in buying fruits and vegetables.
The app lists a dozen foods with the most pesticide residue and 15 of the least. This is an indispensable tool for seniors saddled with chronic diseases. A wrong choice can spell the difference between enjoying life to the fullest or having frequent hospitalization.
To be sure, there are more apps for nutritious foods but the above lead the pack. If you find them lacking, you can surf for those that suit your needs.
Prescription Drugs
An online survey done by the AARP showed that 80% of people aged 65 and above, regularly take at least two prescription drugs a day. This is not surprising considering that chronic illnesses start appearing around this time in a man’s life.
They either buy them from their favorite drugstores or online. And here’s the rub: 95% of online pharmacies selling prescription medications are not complying with state and federal laws and the standards set by the NABP (National Association of Boards of Pharmacy).
Moreover, fake drugs are a constant headache for law enforcement. To avoid potential risks to your health and throwing away good money, use these apps when buying prescription drugs online. Not only do they sell products of unassailable quality, but they also give occasional discounts:
1. Rx Saver
RX Saver was the first to create apps, three, in fact, to help people get the best value for their prescription drugs money
This app allows you to search, view, and compares prescription drug prices at leading discount pharmacies in your neighborhood.
Not only does it allow ease of purchase, but you save at the same time.
2. GoodRx
GoodRx is your typical new-kid-on-the-block that’s making waves. Established in 2011, it boasts of 4 million visitors each month.
Just like RxSaver, GoodRx compares prices of prescription drug prices to give you the best value for your money. But it does it on a wider scale – it tracks prices of 75,000 pharmacies in the U.S.
3. Blink Health Rx
It is common knowledge that prescription drug prices are prohibitive for most. Even if your insurance covers medications, your policy does not always cover everything.
Enters Blink Health Rx.
This app is a no-commitment, no-fee service that gives you access to over 15,000 prescription drugs for a fraction of their retail prices.
And it is easy to use. All you have to do is search for your desired medication on its site, pay online, then pick it up at a local pharmacy near you.
These are the three top apps for purchasing prescription drugs online. If you want to have more options, you can find them at appgrooves.com.
Groceries
Who doesn’t need groceries? Unless you are a hermit, we all do. In fact, its importance in our daily lives is manifested by their presence – from small convenience stores to huge outlets all around you.
But no matter how near they may be, going out for groceries can be a challenge for a lot of seniors – especially those who live alone or those who could no longer drive.
Thanks to apps, you can now access several grocery stores in your neighborhood, instead of going to them.
Here are some of the most popular grocery apps:
1. Grocery Pal
Grocery Pal goes over your grocery list and provides the best available deals at local supermarkets.
2. Out of Milk
Out of Milk simplifies the shopping experience by letting users create, manage, and share shopping lists. The app also allows users to build and manage shopping lists – adding or deleting items while keeping track of price, quantity, coupons, and more.
3. AnyList
This app contains a database of items for creating multiple lists. Just type in the name of an item and the app completes the entry to speed up the process.
You can add items by voice through Siri, and stores recipes to give you more added convenience in preparing your meals.
Video Games
I never play video games (I watch online movies), but I have seen a lot of seniors in coffee shops do so from their tablets. And why not? It’s not easy to be old and we don’t know the torments they face each day. So being a little childish a few hours each day will be a great help.
Video games are entertaining. They are a great hedge against loneliness, slow down cognitive decline and, if played with friends, a perfect way to socialize and bond.
If you are into it, here are some video games for you to choose from:
1. TETRIS
This is a new version of the old Tetris, with colors and cool features added to it. But this is still a brick game and the mission is to clear your play area by orienting each block to solve a horizontal line or two.
2. Words with Friends
If you have a good vocabulary and interested to expand it more, then this is your kind of app.
This is teeming with word games, word puzzles, and more ways to challenge your brain – and your friends – than ever before.
With a friend, this app is competitive at the same time expands your vocabulary in English, Spanish, German, Italian, Brazilian, and British English.
Though the app is free, you can buy things from your app.
3. Dots: A Game is about Connecting
This online game occupied the top slot in many countries for some time.
The game is about spotting same-colored dots and connecting them horizontally, vertically, or square to bag points.
If you want to challenge yourself, you can play the game in timed mode. Otherwise, you take it at your own leisure.
Rhere are more than a dozen online game apps to suit your tastes and preferences. Go to Being Tech Savvy and explore.
News
Research done by the Pew Research Center shows that seniors aged 65 and above spend at least 83 minutes a day reading the news. And another study (shown by the infographic above) shows that 66% of elderly people who go online each day read the news and weather bulletins.
By “news,” I mean in digital form. And this fact has forced a lot of traditional media organizations to go digital, too. Thus, creating news apps.
And here are the top news apps for you to download into your phone:
1. Google News
This replaced the Google Play Newsstand. And it has the polish and smoothness typical of Google.
The app allows you to surf news from around the world. It can set up a daily briefing of the most important news of the day, save a story or download specific publications for later reading.
2. Microsoft News
Formerly known as MSN News, this app is a lightweight, easy-to-use way of getting the news you need. Upon opening for the first time, it will ask you to select the topics you’re interested in and you have it. Should you want to change topics, you can do so any time with ease.
3. CNN News
The first cable news channel also has an app that offers a wide variety of articles, though biased towards U.S. audiences. But it offers a lot of original content not found anywhere else.
Technology has redefined how we live our lives. And depending on one’s perspective, a great help for seniors. It has made things easy, convenient, and fast for them. It practically put things within reach of their fingertips.
And more are coming…
Please share to help other seniors.
Image: 123RF
~oOo~
