Supermarkets Selling Mobility and Daily Living Aids

Two major supermarkets, Asda and the Co-op, have both recently launched into the sale of mobility and daily living aids. The attractions for them are quite clear - we all know about the demographic shift which is growing this market as longevity increases and the post-war baby boomers become pensioners, demanding an increasing range of products to help maintain independence and quality of life.

Having already diversified successfully from their core food lines, where competition is fierce and margins narrow, into areas such as fashion, electronics and homewares, the supermarkets are keen to repeat the trick, using their strong branding and purchasing power to develop new and profitable ranges. Which in some ways is fine - as consumers we have certainly benefitted from the might of the big retailers driving down the cost of our weekly shop and increasing the variety of goods we can conveniently buy under one roof.

There are some daily living aids which fit perfectly well into the supermarket model, such as easy grip utensils, big button phones and remote controls, bath rails and non-slip mats - but I really think we need to ask the question: should walking aids, for example, be regarded as just another product to pick off the shelf along with the washing powder and coffee? Given that somebody who is looking to buy a walking frame necessarily has difficulties walking, and that choosing the wrong one could cause them additional problems, should we not be ensuring that they can talk to someone who is well-trained in assessing such needs and recommending a suitable solution, rather than leaving them to take whatever their local supermarket has decided to stock?

Co-op Xest, the website and catalogue via which the Co-op is selling their range, does not include wheelchairs: interviewed by the BBC, their spokesperson said: “... we are not selling wheelchairs and we have just under 1000 products, but wheelchairs are not amongst them because of the specialist advice that you need.”

Asda, on the other hand, appears to have no such qualms - visitors to the 75 stores piloting the sale of mobility products will be able to buy a wheelchair for significantly less than £100. Their spokesperson indicated that giving specialist advice would not be a problem as he expected their customers would obtain the necessary information from the NHS before purchasing from them. An interesting idea, but one that doesn't really stand up to close scrutiny. Will checkout staff be asking buyers whether they obtained appropriate advice before going to the supermarket? And how will they know whether the product they have selected accords with that advice?

This is just the latest example of major mainstream brands rushing to grab their slice of the apparently lucrative special needs market: we have already seen it with bed and easychair suppliers and bathroom manufacturers. You can certainly argue that the increased competition has done wonders for aesthetics: today's mobility and daily living aids bear no resemblance to the ugly functionality of a decade or so ago. But the cost has been an increase in inappropriate selling techniques, with vulnerable people spending significant amounts on products that are unsuitable for them, because the supplier is more concerned with making a sale than meeting the user's needs.

Having spent twenty years in this business; ten of them editing the Independent Living website, advising people always to make sure that they try a range of mobility products - ideally in an impartial environment such as a Disabled Living Centre - before buying, I am more than a little concerned at the involvement of the supermarkets. Selling mobility aids is about more than simply shifting boxes, and I think we all need to give this new development some careful thought, rather than sleepwalking into a situation where giant retail chains become the 100lb gorilla in this special market.