Frost & Sullivan (hereinafter referred to as 'Frost & Sullivan') continues to monitor the silver-haired economy market and has officially released the '2024 China Silver-haired Economy Development Report' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Report').The report analyzes the current situation of population aging and the silver economy in China, providing an in-depth elaboration from dimensions such as industry background, market scale, driving factors, and development trends. It also makes specific interpretations around the four major aging society themes of 'clothing, food, education, and entertainment'. The report points out that the prosperity of the silver economy in the future cannot be achieved without the full cooperation of the government and all sectors of society. Only by working together to promote the scaling and industrialization process of the silver economy market can we create a better and more favorable living environment for the elderly.
1Overview of the Silver-haired Economy
01 China's population aging will inevitably drive the development of the 'silver economy'.
In 2000, China officially entered the threshold of an aging society, after which the rate of aging in China has accelerated significantly. With the change in population structure, aging has become one of the important challenges facing Chinese society. China's population aging is characterized by a large base population, rapid aging rate, gradually expanding and diversified elderly care needs, the phenomenon of getting old before getting rich driving policy support for industries, and the high pressure on family-based elderly care due to empty-nest living.
With the increase in per capita income, the improvement of the pension mechanism, and the rise in the employment rate of the elderly, their purchasing power has gradually risen. Their lifestyle has become more affluent, and their demand for various products and services is also increasing and becoming more diversified.
02 The silver-haired industry chain is developing towards standardization, scale-up, health, and branding.
China's current economic level has not yet reached parity with developed countries, the elderly care service system is not yet fully established, the quality of elderly-related services varies greatly, and most are focused on meeting the basic living needs of the elderly. Therefore, supporting the silver economy industry has become an urgent need. The government hopes to vigorously develop industries related to the silver economy, aiming to alleviate the social and economic pressures brought about by aging and transform them into new drivers for economic development. The 'Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Enhancing the Well-being of the Elderly' issued by the State Council in 2024 clearly state the need to accelerate the development of the silver economy, cultivate high-precision and advanced products and high-quality service models, in order to improve the quality of life and well-being of the elderly. For industries with good prospects such as elderly product manufacturing and smart health care for the elderly, favorable policy measures will be introduced to ensure that the silver economy industry develops towards standardization, scale, health, and branding.
03 The huge development potential of the silver-haired economy market will become China's new growth engine
The silver-haired economy refers to the sum of various economic activities aimed at providing diversified and varied products or services to the elderly population, as well as preparations for their needs. It includes both practical product consumption in daily life and service-oriented consumption such as leisure and entertainment. In recent years, the market scale of China's silver-haired economy has shown a steady growth trend. From 2019 to 2023, the market scale increased at a compound annual growth rate of about 13.2%, demonstrating the rapid expansion of the silver-haired economy market. In 2023, the market scale of China's silver-haired economy reached 7.1 trillion yuan. In the future, with continuous industrial maturity and further policy optimization, the market scale of the silver-haired economy will continue to maintain a high growth rate. It is estimated that by 2028, the market scale will reach 12.3 trillion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of about 11.8%. The silver-haired economy industry has great development potential and will become an important growth engine for the Chinese economy.
2The elderly have their "clothes"
01 With ingenuity at its core, the elderly's shoe market is entering a new era worth hundreds of billions
The retail market scale of Chinese elderly shoes reached approximately 81.96 billion yuan in 2023, accounting for about 17.7% of the overall footwear retail market. The elderly consumer group has extremely high requirements for the comfort of footwear to ensure foot flexibility. In addition, safety, shock absorption, and hygiene are also important considerations. Facing the broad development prospects of the silver-haired industry and the market's continuous understanding and exploration of the pain points in the elderly's footwear demand, the retail market scale of Chinese elderly shoes is expected to grow to 112.13 billion yuan by 2028, with an annual compound growth rate of about 6.5% from 2023 to 2028.
Currently, the participants in the Chinese elderly shoe market can be roughly divided into the following three categories:
1) Professional senior citizen shoe brand represented by FuLi Jian:Based on its in-depth understanding of elderly consumer psychology, Foot Strength Health has captured the mismatch between market demand and supply. By leveraging its first-mover advantage, it has meticulously crafted products, steadily laid out channels, and won consumer favor through large-scale advertising campaigns, becoming a leading brand in China's senior footwear market. In 2023, Foot Strength Health participated in the formulation of the national standard for 'senior shoes' as one of the main drafting units, ending the industry's 'no standard to follow' situation and promoting high-quality development in the industry.
2) Traditional leather shoe brands represented by Red Dragonfly, Aokang, etc.:Red Dragonfly and Ocon, among other leather shoe brands, have built a strong foothold in the market over the years by leveraging their advantages in brand, production, distribution channels, and patents. Faced with the broad prospects of the silver-haired market and the rapid growth of leading brands, they hope to use their experience and resources to expand the elderly shoe market, increase product diversity, and provide consumers with more choices.
3) Sports shoe brands represented by Li Ning and Skechers:Sports shoe brands such as Li Ning and Skechers focus on enhancing comfort while their minimalist designs and black, white, and gray color palettes align with the aesthetics of the elderly, successfully tapping into the elderly consumer market. With the rise of domestic sports brands, companies like Li Ning have begun to enter the elderly footwear market, emphasizing the importance of technology for product upgrades.
02 Dual-wheel drive boosts the development of the elderly clothing market
Driven by both the demand side and the supply side, innovation is taking place in the Chinese elderly clothing market. It is expected that by 2028, the retail scale of the Chinese elderly clothing market will exceed 300 billion yuan. From 2019 to 2023, the retail market scale of Chinese elderly clothing fluctuated from 189.27 billion yuan to 225.40 billion yuan, with an annual compound growth rate of about 4.5%. The market growth rate far exceeds that of the overall clothing retail market during the same period.
3The elderly have their "feats"
The Chinese health food market has undergone a transformation from disorder to order, from single products to a variety of offerings, and from traditional products to integration with modern trends. In recent years, the Chinese health food market has maintained a steady growth trend, mainly driven by an increase in people's health awareness and changes in consumption habits. With the acceleration of the aging process and the continuous expansion of the elderly population, the Chinese health food market shows great development potential.
From 2019 to 2023, the market scale of health care foods in China increased from 174 billion yuan to 215.92 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%. Looking ahead, with the increasing awareness of health knowledge and health among the elderly and the growing demand for health care foods, the market for health care foods in China will continue to maintain stable growth, with an expected increase to 284.04 billion yuan by 2028.
4The elderly have "learning"
The Chinese elderly education market is booming under the dual impetus of policy support and the rise of an industrial ecosystem. From a social development perspective, elderly interest education is an effective means for society to develop and utilize elderly human resources and support their continued participation in social development; from an individual's perspective, participating in educational activities can not only meet the practical learning needs of the elderly but is also regarded as an important way for this group to continuously participate in society and realize self-worth.
The user base for elderly interest education in China continues to grow rapidly, reaching 72.8 million people in 2023, with an elderly penetration rate of 24.5%. From 2019 to 2023, the market size of elderly interest education in China experienced a compound annual growth rate of 14.7%, increasing from 14.79 billion yuan to 25.61 billion yuan. It is estimated that starting from 2023, the market size of elderly interest education in China will maintain large-scale expansion at a compound annual growth rate of 10.9%, and the market size will exceed 40 billion yuan by 2028.
5An old age filled with "joy"
In the daily lives of the elderly, leisure and entertainment activities play a crucial role. Due to their abundant free time, the elderly show a significant interest in spiritual and cultural consumption activities such as tourism and education. Among various leisure and entertainment options, tourism has become the preferred choice for the elderly group. It not only benefits the physical and mental health of the elderly but also promotes their social participation and economic contributions.
According to the statistical data for 2019, the silver-haired tourism market size reached approximately 1.5 trillion yuan, accounting for nearly 20% of the total scale of the Chinese tourism market. Between 2020 and 2022, affected by the global pandemic, the overall scale of the Chinese tourism market experienced a brief decline. In 2023, with the relaxation of national policies, the interest and participation of the elderly in travel activities rebounded, and the market size recovered to 1.4 trillion yuan, essentially returning to pre-pandemic levels. Looking ahead, the silver-haired tourism market is expected to maintain a continuous growth momentum, with the market size reaching approximately 2.7 trillion yuan by 2028, and a compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2028 is expected to reach 13.6%.
