Why luxury should cater to the silver generation

What happened Brands may be overlooking one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer groups, trend forecaster WGSN said in a release today announcing its Silver Generation Priorities forecast. Consumers aged 60 and older could become a major driver of growth as aging populations reshape spending and work, the forecast said. The forecast is available to WGSN subscribers and will be published more widely in the coming weeks, the company said. Its release cites a $4.56 trillion valuation for the silver economy from Ageing Asia, a Singapore-based industry group. WGSN said brands that rethink how they engage older consumers stand to collect a “Longevity Dividend.” Asia-Pacific is the “leading indicator for where every market is heading,” WGSN said. South Korea joined Japan as a super-aged society in 2024, meaning more than 20% of its population is 65 or older. Consumers aged 60 and older are set to drive two-thirds of consumption growth in Asia, according to the release. How WGSN says brands should market to consumers aged 60 and older Marketing to older shoppers should move away from cautious “senior” messaging, WGSN said, and treat active aging as “reinvention rather than decline.” The forecast groups its advice under three headings: health and wellness, work, and travel and leisure. Older consumers have more money and free time than ever, WGSN said, and are spending both on travel and hobbies. Brands need to build cultural relevance with this group, the company said. Six sectors are in the forecast’s sights: fashion, beauty, interiors, consumer technology, food and drink, and hospitality. It is the first in a series from WGSN’s APAC Partner Content program, the release said, with category reports to follow on beauty, food and drink, technology and interiors. Behind the advice is a shift in emphasis from lifespan to what WGSN called “wellspan,” the years a person spends in good health. The Jing Take For luxury brands in China, silver consumers are a market to court. WGSN’s three headings map closely onto luxury’s core businesses. Older Chinese consumers with time and money are natural buyers of high-end travel, hospitality, fashion and home goods. China began raising its statutory retirement age on January 1, 2025, the first change since the 1950s, under a decision approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in September 2024. Over 15 years, the age for men rises from 60 to 63, and for women from 50 or 55, depending on the job, to 55 or 58. Those who keep working also keep socializing and dressing for public life. China beauty market trends: older consumers choose vitality over anti-aging Attitudes to aging have changed as well. “Five years ago, aging well in China was more explicitly framed around preserving youth and delaying visible decline,” Allie Rooke, CEO of consultancy Clean Beauty Asia, told Jing Daily. Looking young is now only one part of being in a good “zhuangtai” (状态), or overall condition, she said: healthy, energetic, confident and engaged with life. “The shift is therefore less from anti-aging to age acceptance, and more from maintaining a youthful appearance to maintaining overall vitality and quality of life for longer,” Rooke said. Beauty shows how fast that idea is turning into sales. China’s cosmetics market for older consumers reached about RMB 58 billion ($8.1 billion) in 2025, growing 19.3% and outpacing the wider market, according to Chinese cosmetics trade outlet C2CC. Online beauty purchases by 55- to 65-year-olds rose more than 60% year-on-year, the same article said. Luxury houses should sell vitality. A trip or a wardrobe built for an active life will land better with this customer than a promise to erase years. Brands that still treat 60 as the end of the target audience risk missing their next growth market. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

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Why luxury should cater to the silver generation

How 2026 welcomed ‘Too Cool’ back