"There is tremendous price pressure in this industry because of legislators trying to control costs," said Mark Sullivan, Vice President of the rehab category for Invacare, which is headquartered near Cleveland, OH. "It's no different for hospitals and nursing homes, everybody is trying to contain healthcare costs. Pricing pressures keep the number of [OEM] competitors down."


Cupholders and Food Trays
The wheelchair and scooter market was estimated at $3.2 billion in 2005 and is expected to top $7 billion by 2012 according to Research and Markets. The Freedonia Group reported that the mobility market for this equipment breaks down into 27% rehabilitative care, 25% leisure and recreational, 21% home health care, 12% medical institutions, and 15% industrial and commercial.

The variety of mobility equipment now available is astonishing, including a wide array of features for each type of device. Product categories include walkers, standard wheelchairs, rollators (which are walkers with wheels), power chairs, scooters, and a number of hybrids. For example, a knee walker is like a rollator but supports one leg, for instance pre-operatively for joint replacement surgery. Rollators and walkers come with helpful accessories like cupholders and food trays. Other features on wheelchairs and scooters include crutch, cane, or walker holders; seat belts, oxygen tank holders, even rear view mirrors.

The motorized wheelchair, which typically runs on two, 12-volt batteries, is controlled with a joystick. This is more common in health care settings than scooters, which are used more recreationally. In fact, power chairs may be gaining ground across market segments.

"Primarily in the geriatric market...a lot of people are winding up in the power chairs versus scooters because the power chairs are center-wheel drive and more maneuverable in the home," Sullivan observed. "The scooter market has gravitated toward smaller, lightweight, more portable scooters to go to the mall. But as far as mobility on a daily basis, they often go in power chairs versus scooters."

The prices for mobility equipment range from $500 for a standard wheelchair up to $5,000 for a geriatric power chair, to $25,000 for a chair for those with spinal cord injuries. Scooters typically retail in the $1,200 to $2,000 range. Walkers are around $100.

Designed for Patients and Staff

A big trend affecting the segment is obesity. Hospitals must increasingly take the needs of the bariatric population into account. It was once commonplace for hospitals to purchase wheelchairs that are 18 inches wide. Today, the standard is 20 or even 22 inches since providers fear that patients will literally outgrow their equipment investment.

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