Innovation

Digital - Forward Innovation

Advances in technology and the potential of future technologies provide us with a unique opportunity to ensure the long-term success of our social mission and membership objectives while improving our long-term organizational and financial objectives. Our consumers are already digitally savvy. The technology adoption rate by Americans 50-plus has dramatically increased over the past few years. The pandemic rapidly accelerated the use of technology in our daily lives. And as generations age, we’ll soon be serving consumers who don’t remember a life without the internet or social media. They’ll expect us to meet them where they are.

Our Commitment to Ageless Technologies

Innovation Over the Years

When Ethel Percy Andrus founded AARP in 1958, she was focused on innovation of all sorts.

A former teacher and high school principal, Dr. Andrus was a font of groundbreaking ideas. She established a community residence so older people would not have to live alone, she organized group travel to make dream trips affordable to retirees, she opened lifelong learning centers to keep minds active, and — on a more physical front — she had a “House of Freedom” built to showcase a concept that we now call “aging in place.” And that’s just to name a few.

AARP today is as busy as its founder was 60 years ago, percolating fresh ideas to serve people over 50 who have been neglected by the marketplace. Though they generate $8.3 trillion a year in economic activity, 50-plus consumers attract only 5 percent of advertising dollars.

AARP has long recognized the “longevity economy” — the economic opportunity that America’s older population represents — and it has actively encouraged product developers and marketers to respond to this “longevity economy" with solutions focused on the interests and needs of people age 50-plus.

Thanks to Dr. Andrus and other AARP leaders through the past 60 years, innovation is in AARP’s DNA, and it has taken the lead in driving innovative solutions to empower people to choose how they live as they age. At the forefront is the AARP Innovation Labs, which provides an environment for AARP to engage with the start-up ecosystem, academia and other experts to help shape and co-create new solutions.

Explore Your Possibilities

AARP fosters an inclusive workplace where unique personal expressions, views, identities, and experiences embolden collaboration and innovation. We believe every person deserves to bring their true self to work—safely, authentically, and proudly—so they can contribute freely and fearlessly to our mission. Working together, AARP aims to create a society in which all people can live with dignity and purpose and fulfill their goals and dreams.