A new report from dentsu Hong Kong finds that nearly two million Hongkongers aged between 55 and 70 now represent one of the city’s largest and most financially empowered consumer segments.
The report, titled Silver is the New Gold, found that this group has average investable assets of HK$6 million and a growing population of affluent consumers with significant discretionary spending power.
According to the report, the marketing industry has spent the past decade focusing on younger generations, while affluent silver consumers are increasingly defining new behaviors and expectations across categories including wellness, travel, luxury, experiences, lifestyle and civic participation.
The research identifies five major shifts in behavior: a growing focus on personal performance and self-improvement, an appetite for new experiences, stronger social engagement, greater willingness to indulge, and a desire to contribute meaningfully to society.
The Shifts
Shift One: From managing decline to “let’s see what else this body can do.”
Shift Two: From slowing down to “I have time to do so much more.”
Shift Three: From “close to home” to “are they ever going to come home?”
Shift Four: From living for responsibilities to responsibly enjoying themselves.
Shift Five: From being supported to contributing back.
“Many brands are still marketing to an outdated idea of ageing,” said Yee Ching Wong, Strategy Planning Director, dentsu Hong Kong.
“Older consumers are often overlooked or portrayed through stereotypes of dependency and decline, despite being highly active, connected and engaged in culture, travel and new experiences. The opportunity for marketers is to stop treating this audience as an afterthought and start reflecting the reality of their lives.”
Rather than simply adapting existing campaigns or creating age-targeted products, brands should reconsider how they engage with a generation that increasingly sees itself as active, curious and continually evolving.
Dentsu Hong Kong identifies three areas where brands have the greatest opportunity to build relevance: enabling personal performance, curating meaningful experiences, and amplifying identity and self-expression.
The full report is available here.
Credits
Dentsu Hong Kong
Strategy Planning Director: Yee Ching Wong
Senior Strategist: Emmy Ip
Senior Data Strategist: Jude Leung
Creative Director: Ivan Au
Senior Art Director: Harry Wong
Senior Marketing and Communications Manager: Betsy Wong
