An internet platform for seniors

Social networking sites have become increasingly popular. Nowadays people not only communicate through PC, notebook, also now by mobile phone in virtual social networks like face book, twitter, buys or sells at Amazon or eBay. Social shopping is just getting started; recommendations from friends or family are the single most important factor in the choice of website to buy from. One uses digital, mobile, and social media to shop both in stores and online – digital technology has changed the shopping experience.

Also the proportion of seniors increases in both the Web and in real terms in the society. In Germany, the increase in life expectancy for men is since 1970, over 8 years and for women 7.5 years. In the years 2020 to 2035 when the baby boomers reach the age of 65, the ratio of young people to retired people would be nearly 49% in 2035. In 1957 when the pension system was introduced there were only 17 retired people versus 100 young people. The next generations could face the risk of being affected by poverty in older age.

Career and work in our society attaches great importance: firstly, it allows us a degree of prosperity, but also our self-esteem is identified above. A particularly high level of satisfaction is usually when the work is also assessed as useful to society.

The Bazaar idea: Since people live longer and healthier, even after retirement, they need platforms to remain connected to the society, perform some useful activity and generate incidentally some income. As a Social Shopping Marketplace, Bazaar brings sellers and buyers together to connect and transacts and creates a forum for them to display and sell their wares/services to buyers. Bazaar also incorporates causes in a meaningful way and is recognizing the value of cause marketing and ethical consumerism with today’s increasingly socially conscious and tech savvy consumers. Like buying green products, organic food, fair trade products or recycled products, buying on the bazaar (50+, people who are unemployed or retired, with life experience to transfer and nevertheless need some income) means supporting those people.

BAZAAR project (www.eu-bazaar.biz) strengthens the initiative and entrepreneurial activity for mature people and encourages them to exploit their already existing skills and experience they acquired during their life. A course with modules for entrepreneurship and e-marketing is developed and tested to advice and coach mature people to start second and third careers. In Bazaar course they learn how to build an e-business-facility based on their existing skills, competencies and experience or their own creative hobbies in order to offer their products and services online at the Internet and generate income.

For this, a virtual bazaar was set up, to help "new entrepreneurs" to face the challenges together and not alone- that arise in building a new business. At the same time a platform for dialogue has been launched to promote the exchange of experience. By enhancing the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship bazaar created a pool as an e-market by using internet to sell goods and services.