China’s ageing population is an untapped resource for brands, and AI advertising could help attract a growing group of silver-haired customers

In and among the long-limbed twenty-something models showing off this summer’s various collections, you might find a handful of grey-haired women. This is progress. As is the fact that on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok and China’s fastest growing social media site – some of the most-viewed KOLs now include women in their 60s and 70s, modelling dresses with sleeves, skirts that end mid-calf and jeans with the sort of waistlines that a decade ago might have been deemed old-fashioned, but which are now 10 times more fashionable than the skinny styles of the past.

Fashion finally has become kinder to women of all ages and sizes, and that is worth celebrating, but the industry as a whole – from marketing and advertising to styles and cuts – is still largely geared towards youth. We have to ask how much longer this can last when one of the most lucrative markets in the world is becoming a rapidly ageing society.

The Chinese government is clearly trying to combat this trajectory by announcing not only the end to the one-child policy, but by allowing families to have three children. However, none of this will change the fact that for at least two decades, the older side of the Chinese population will have more spending power. Already, people 65 and above account for 13.5 per cent of the population of 1.4 billion – a growth of 5 per cent in 10 years. Now, research companies such as iiMedia Research suggest China’s silver yuan is already worth US$881 million.

The pandemic also seems to have accelerated this trend: under 30s dropped their fashion spending by three percentage points more than the over 60s during the coronavirus. Older people have also saved a lot more over the last year and are now used to shopping online – data suggests that over-60s increased their internet usage by 4 percentage points over the course of the pandemic. The message for brands is clear: ignore this age group at your peril.

Except that ignoring them appears to be exactly what most brands are doing. Many retailers can’t seem to work out how to strike a balance between attracting younger millennial and Gen Z shoppers, while designing collections that appeal to older customers, so they bet on youth; designer brands moving towards an increasingly casual and streetwear aesthetic are doing the same thing. Meanwhile the labels that do target the 60-plus market often play it too safe, releasing clothes that stylish women of all ages find dull and shapeless.

So how do you resonate with that consumer group without constantly reinforcing that they are an older consumer?