We are obsessed with youth.
From botox and filler to red light masks and collagen water, our culture has glorified aging in reverse. The beauty and wellness industries have spent decades anchoring their brand narratives around it and, as marketers, we chase creators that fit the mold. And I get it, there’s a real movement there and billions of dollars to back it. But while the industry continues pouring its budget into the next almond milk endorsement, someone’s grandma posted her first unboxing video. And it went viral.
Welcome to the Silver Economy.
It’s the most savvy and untapped market in the creator industry.
These are creators with loyal followings, subject matter authority, and a unique ability to convert. They’ve earned their audiences' trust through decades of lived experience which is so easy to translate to social media. I mean, who doesn't want grandma’s recipe or skincare routine?
Credit: Sponge Bob Squarepants
A $15 Trillion Blind Spot
The Silver Economy refers to the spending power of individuals aged 60 and older, often represented in the creator space by a growing class of influencers known as "grandfluencers." This market is already valued at $15 trillion globally and is projected to reach $27 trillion by 2050. In the United States, individuals over 50 control 70% of disposable income, account for 51% of all consumer spending, and hold more than 80% of personal wealth.
This blend of generations is the economic backbone of multiple key industries like travel, healthcare, luxury goods, financial services, home improvement, and more recently, ecommerce. Yet despite their influence, only 5% of U.S. advertising features people over 50 and even fewer agencies include them in influencer marketing strategies.
As marketers, we spend millions crafting narratives around authenticity and brand longevity, while simultaneously overlooking the most financially powerful and culturally credible audience available. Somewhere along the way, our industry equated youth with relevance and began optimizing for trend cycles over actual influence.
Retirement is now apparently filled with shopping on Amazon Prime, managing diversified portfolios, and navigating a complicated but increasingly confident relationship with modern tech. Yet, we aren’t including them in our strategies at all!
This is the “I bought a new Dyson, booked a trip European cruise, and had time to leave detailed product reviews” market. The Silver economy is outpacing other age groups in digital adoption, so your strategy absolutely cannot afford to bypass them.
Influence is Evolving & Brands Are Late
For the last decade, we’ve built our marketing models around speed. Fast growth, fast content, and fast platforms have become the norm as we scramble to keep up with shrinking attention spans. We’ve chased what’s new and what’s next, often favoring immediacy over intentionality.
Still, too many brands treat the 50+ audience like a checkbox. A one-off activation. A diversity play. That mindset needs to change.
This is a strategic growth market, one with spending power, loyalty, and a hunger/ for content that speaks to them directly. More importantly, they don’t just want to consume content while sipping on coffee at 6am; they want to create it. This demographic is digitally active, tech-curious, and quick to adopt when the value is clear. They spend more per transaction, they return more often, and they stick with brands that make them feel seen.
Take my grandmother as the perfect example.
The amount of reels I receive from her is borderline excessive. I can’t imagine what her screentime is. Not to mention, she sends me pictures of baby cows in the palm of someone’s hand and I have to break the news that AI fooled her again.
But between the AI generated animals and the recipe hacks, she sends me real products that she bought to try out. She’s influenced, engaged and participating. Not passively scrolling.
With all that said, let’s talk platforms.
TikTok users aged 55+ grew 456% in the last 18 months.
73% of U.S. adults aged 50–64 are active on social media.
YouTube and Facebook engagement is skyrocketing among the 60+ crowd
Older creators get +35% engagement in branded content compared to standard Gen Z benchmarks
There are clear examples already setting the standard. L’Oréal’s Age Perfect campaign with Helen Mirren redefined what aspirational beauty looks like post-60 and helped deliver double-digit growth. Peloton saw engagement increase when it invested in content tailored to older adults, proving that age-inclusive programming can drive meaningful platform participation.
And brands like NYX, Sephora, Smirnoff, and others have partnered with creators such as Grandma Droniak, embracing older audiences through authentic, personality-driven content that resonates across generations. Pioneers like @baddiewinkle helped pave the way for what we now call the grandfluencer movement, proving that age is not a barrier to influence, cultural relevance, or brand partnerships. Today, brands across beauty, fashion, wellness, and lifestyle continue to build successful campaigns with older creators who bring authenticity, trust, and highly engaged audiences.
And if you need further proof, go watch @trainwithjoan, a 77-year-old fitness creator with more than 1.6 million followers, or spend five minutes with @grandma_droniak, whose hilarious takes on dating, weddings, family drama, and getting older have earned her millions of followers and partnerships with major brands. These creators are proving that influence has nothing to do with age.
The proof is in the pudding. The kind your grandma actually made from scratch.
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I Want My Grandma to Start Creating
No, seriously.
I’ve been trying to get her on camera for months.
This is Alice, who I call, “Wele,” (shortened version of abuela). Not only is she the most fabulous woman alive, she is hilarious and could most certainly build a following. She has stories. She has wisdom. And I trust her way more than I trust a 19-year-old telling me which face cream changed their life in two weeks considering they don’t have one wrinkle on their face.
Trust me… you want my grandma’s skincare secrets. Just look at her.
And that’s really the point: the silver economy isn’t just about the money. It’s about the cultural shift we should have made a long time ago where age isn’t something to be erased in Photoshop, but something that makes a creator more powerful.
That speaks to a whole other conversation about shifting beauty standards, but brands deserve to benefit from voices that cut through the noise.
So yes, I want my grandma to be an influencer.
The world needs more voices that know who they are, what they like, and how to spot BS from a mile away.
And if you ask me, that’s the kind of influence money can’t buy but marketers absolutely should.
So, what should we do about it?
In the executive suite, we are tasked with growing market share, responsible for shaping the public face of the brands we serve, and act as stewards in how they speak to their audience. So, it’s time to shift our minds by integrating silver creators into your long-term influencer strategies as anchors and authentic voices. We want to do what’s effective, smart, and what builds equity over time and that goes for customer and cultural equity.
This is a powerful, untapped market with real influence, real spending power, and a growing presence in digital culture. We have a responsibility to move beyond outdated assumptions and start casting a wider net. The only question is whether brands are ready to act on it.
Long story short, I’ll let you know when my grandma gets monetized!