Image Is Everything

Despite a massive government crackdown on fraud in the power mobility sector, demand for scooters still grows, offering a viable option for an aging, mobile population. And such unequivocal demand remains the market’s primary driver.

“As Medicare continues to review the K0011 claims and requests for power chairs are being denied, dealers and individuals are looking to the scooter market to provide an alternative,” says Al Thieme, president of Amigo Mobility.

Even though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has retracted the DMERCs’ power wheelchair policy clarification issued in December, many in the industry predict a certain level of scrutiny to continue.

“I think the scooter market is going to start expanding more because of [Medicare’s scrutiny of] power wheelchairs,” says DuWayne Kramer, president of Leisure-Lift. “[The government is] going to at least put consumer power wheelchairs on the same level as scooters before long. Right now, it depends on how long that will take.”

The scooter alternative is also economical, Kramer explains. “Scooters are a lot less intricate than a power chair,” he explains. “A good-quality scooter is going to be a very long-lasting product, [and they are] more economical to purchase and maintain” than a power chair.

“It all depends on the [consumer’s] medical necessity,” he points out.

For Active Lives

Manufacturers say scooters also offer some relief to seniors who feel there is a stigma attached to using a mobility device.

“Today a customer is trying to fit into anything but a power chair,” says Michael Kraft, inside sales support for C.T.M. Mobility. “There’s more of a stigma going into a [wheelchair]. The stigma is reversed for scooters,” he says, in part because of a scooter’s “sporty look.”

Other industry leaders agree. “It’s a travel vehicle instead of a golf cart,” says Patty DeScipio, provider marketing manager for Pride Mobility Products. The smaller units come in “new, fun colors,” such as champagne and viper blue, she says, and are easier to transport than a wheelchair.

“The stigma is gone, the attitude’s changed,” says Randy Riecks, national sales manager for Ranger All Season. According to Riecks, the number of scooter-users among seniors has grown exponentially in the rural United States since the mid-1990s. For example, he says, “In George, Iowa, we have a fairly large county fair every September. Five years ago you wouldn’t have seen more than 10 scooters there. Last September that number was over 100,” he says, “just because of people wanting to get around more.”

No matter what the geography, Kramer explains, “scooters have always been a daylight-saving-time product” simply because people have more of a need to get out and about when the weather turns warm. Several months ago, “sure, scooters were slow — because [it was] snowing in New York. [But our sales] were up last fall quite a bit in scooters.”

The need for assisted mobility among active seniors has turned the scooter into an appealing retail item, according to manufacturers. “The smaller, lightweight travel scooters provide a spirited complement to their active lifestyles,” says Thieme. “The original need for a mobility solution for individuals with walking limitations due to multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, arthritis or any other disability has continued to grow the scooter market,” he says, adding that both consumers and physicians are becoming increasingly aware of scooters as a mobility option.

Scooters can enable or enhance a lifestyle for those who need them, product makers point out. “It’s about more than just mobility,” says DeScipio. “It increases [the end user’s] opportunity for a better lifestyle.”

‘Booming’ Growth

The market is growing at a steady rate, experts say, and will continue to increase as the baby boomer generation ages. “Baby boomers have more cash, they’re more affluent and they’re going to want to get around because they’ve been active,” says Riecks.

Another boomer characteristic could make the market even stronger. “We’re the credit card generation, looking for convenience, and that’s the future demographic,” explains DeScipio, who says spending will likely increase with baby boomers since, in comparison, “seniors are generally a little more thrifty.”

“The opportunities keep coming,” she says.

Scooters have always represented a cash mainstay, with only about 20 to 30 percent of sales being reimbursed by Medicare, Kramer says.

Such a cash business demands a certain level of retail savvy. For example, the season for celebrating parents is fast approaching — with Mother’s and Father’s Days in sight. Scooter industry leaders say it’s time that mobility providers cash in on the tried-and-true marketing measure of holiday gift-giving.

“We’ve been promoting these holidays for about three years, and the gift-giver market segment is still growing,” says Pride’s DeScipio. “We’re trying to take advantage of what department stores have been capitalizing on for years.”

But beyond retail, there also could be a change in reimbursement guidelines on the horizon, Kramer says, meaning the number of Medicare-reimbursed scooters could go up between 10 and 20 percent. “There are some real changes going on in the scooter market, where [the government may] reduce some of the [Medicare coverage] requirements,” he says, putting the product on a “more equal reimbursement footing” with wheelchairs.

Easing Medicare’s scooter coverage requirements would make economic sense for the government, Kramer explains, “because the government is going to pay a lot less money” for a scooter than a power wheelchair.

Quality Product, Quality Service

The scooter user population today — and a decade from now — is going to demand a quality product that meets customer needs. “The market [is] looking for portability and maneuverability, because those are the two really critical things,” says Cy Corigan, national sales manager for Pride.

End users require a lightweight product — one that, as Kraft explains, “the everyday person can put in his or her trunk to take to the grocery store.”

But along with features and benefits, quality in the product and in service after the sale is the key, experts say.

“People can get a scooter for $675 on eBay if they want a cheap, cheap scooter,” notes Leisure-Lift’s Jim Ernst. “But a dealer [who] does his job up front can keep [customers] from buying the cheap, cheap scooter by explaining to them the differences and evaluating their needs … the dealer is still the best person for that.”

Manufacturers and providers alike are also focused on consumer-driven issues such as product delivery and maintenance. For example, “there’s also a fulfillment aspect of one to three days for quick delivery,” says Corigan. “If someone wants a scooter, they don’t want to wait one or two weeks.”

Experts Interviewed:

Cy Corigan, national sales manager, and Patty DeScipio, provider marketing manager, Pride Mobility Products, Exeter, Pa.; Jim Ernst and DuWayne Kramer, president, Leisure-Lift, Kansas City, Kan.; Michael Kraft, inside sales support, C.T.M. Mobility, Riverside, Calif.; Randy Riecks, national sales manager, Ranger All Season, George, Iowa; and Al Thieme, president, Amigo Mobility International, Inc., Bridgeport, Mich.

For more information on these companies, see HomeCare‘s annual Buyers’ Guide, or access the Buyers’ Guide online by visiting www.homecaremag.com and clicking on “Buyer’s Guide” in the top menu bar. Online, you can search by company name or category, or both. Many online listings have direct links to manufacturer Web sites.

Selling Scooters

The key to selling scooters — by and large a retail item — starts with customer awareness, experts say. “Providers are driving awareness more so than ever before,” says Patty DeScipio of Pride Mobility Products.

“The customer needs to be shown the product,” adds Randy Riecks, Ranger All Season. “For our scooter [the key to making a sale] would be to show [customers] the features offered. That’s true for any company,” he says.

Other manufacturers say another key opportunity for providers comes after the initial sale. “For providers, it’s all about service after the sale; that’s what gets people coming back to them,” says Pride’s Cy Corigan.

“The key to success for scooter providers is to offer a long-term relationship and an individualized mobility solution for each of their customers. Unfortunately, a few dealers today are focused on making the quick sale and not taking the time to properly connect with individuals to determine the best scooter for their needs,” says Al Thieme of Amigo Mobility.

DuWayne Kramer of Leisure-Lift agrees, adding that providers should take the time “to understand what the consumer’s needs are … and not just [sell] the red one because it’s pretty.” The seller must ask how the customer will use the scooter. Will it be taken up and down a steep ramp into their house? Will it be driven in the backyard? What kind of battery life will that customer need? What power and weight requirements are there? The provider who “understands a customer’s needs will get the residual business,” Kramer believes.

Mobility manufacturers say the first step for providers is recognizing the opportunity the scooter market offers. Handled in the right way, “retail mobility [can be] a viable cash flow,” says Corigan, and can become “a key part” of a provider’s business model.

An Undeniable Demographic

As the 77 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 continue to grow older, the scooter industry is embracing these baby boomers. But manufacturers expect that changing, active lifestyles in the aging population will keep growth in scooters steady even after the wave of baby boomers subsides.

The needs of the senior population have changed, experts say. As a group they are more mobile, more active and demand more from mobility products than ever before, and those expectations may carry over into future generations as their children and grandchildren witness the impact a mobility product such as a scooter can have on quality of life.

“Seniors are more active than ever,” says Patty DeScipio, Pride Mobility Products. As the baby boomers begin to retire in large numbers in 2010 — as estimated by FirstGov for Seniors (www.seniors.gov), a Web site created and maintained by the Social Security Administration — scooter makers say they are prepared to meet this burgeoning population’s mobility needs.

Adds Pride’s Cy Corigan, “[Seniors] want to maintain their lifestyle, their independence, and a scooter allows them to do so.”