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The new normal: Silver economy shines brightly as Singles' Day 2023 approaches
CATERING TO THE SILVER ECONOMY'S UNIQUE BEHAVIORS AND
PREFERENCES IS TABLE STAKES
To build connection and loyalty, retailers-and brand owners-
will need to cater offerings to a different life stage, embedding
convenience throughout the shopping journey. The ease of the
purchase process matters greatly to senior shoppers, to offset
potential vision and mobility limitations. Certain e-commerce
companies have rolled out customized platforms with larger
font sizes and simplified product information as a result, such
as Taobao with Zhangbeitao1. Additional elderly-oriented
functions to improve convenience-such as voice-aided search
or a customer service hotline-will further drive adoption
among seniors. These apps also must implement strong data
security practices around payments and ads to protect the
more vulnerable.
Personal connection matters to the silver economy. Nearly
three-quarters (73%) of senior shoppers are heavily influenced
by family and friend recommendations when choosing which
products and brands to buy, the most of any age group we
surveyed. Looking at promotional tactics, while younger
demographics clearly favor direct discounts and gifts, senior
shoppers are attracted to a wider variety.
They display a higher preference for more traditional marketing
methods such as word-of-mouth and in-person referral
(14 percentage points above the overall population) and lucky
draw (8 percentage points above).
56+ Overall
FIGURE 8: A SINGLE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT APPROACH IS NOT A FIT FOR SENIOR SHOPPERS-
EMBEDDING CONVENIENCE INTO THE WHOLE SHOPPING JOURNEY WOULD BE THE KEY
Survey question: [Among those who have used Zhangbeitao or similar platforms before] How useful do you find the following features to help you
locate the product you need and complete the buying process?
Source: AlixPartners China Singles' Day Survey 2023 (N=2,150)
61%
63%
59%
63%
63%68%
69%
67%
63%
68%
66%
69% 74%
74%
77%
77%
80%
80%
80%
83%
Photo-taking to identify the exact product
Simplified buying process, e.g. lesser information to fill in, fewer steps to go
through, lesser options to choose from
Voice-aided searching
Adding family account for info sharing with kids who can
help complete payment
Simplified product catalogue and display
Door-to-door delivery
Designated locations for pick-up
Chat with human custom support
Customer hotline
Senior-shopper-friendly user interface, e.g. larger font size
% difference
from other
age groups
15%
17%
13%
11%
9%
14%
9%
15%
6%
5%
56+ Overall
FIGURE 9: WORD OF MOUTH ALIVE AND WELL AS A KEY BUYING CONSIDERATION FOR SILVER
CONSUMERS, ON TOP OF OTHER PROMOTIONAL TACTICS
Survey question: What are the top 3 effective promotional tactics that you find most attractive in driving your repeated purchase of the same brand?
(Please select all that apply)
Source: AlixPartners China Singles' Day Survey 2023 (N=2,150)
% difference
from other
age groups
13%
9%
1%
1%
0%
-1%
-1%
-3%
-3%
-6%
-8%
58%
17%
29%
44%
9%
25%
14%
23%
30%
28%
22%
50%
11%
26%
41%
8%
24%
14%
24%
31% 37%
35%
Direct discount on prices
Livestreaming
Membership status and privileges
Free gifts
Paper advertisements
Social networking opportunities/exclusive events offered by the brand
Gaming features to win discount coupon
Point/stamp accumulation
Daily check-ins to earn points for discount coupon/gift redemption
Lucky draw
Word-of-mouth/in-person recommendation
1. Zhangbeitao is an elderly-oriented version of Taobao with user-friendly features such as bigger font size, simpler user interface etc.