China’s silver travellers: the 2025 duty‑free game‑changer

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By DFNI Staff Writer

Published July 23, 2025

China is ageing—310 million citizens are now over 60, constituting 22% of the national population. Far from being a social cost, this cohort is powering what Beijing now labels the 银发经济 (silver economy) – an ecosystem of goods and services for later‑life living.

The Fudan Institute on Aging predicts that the scale of the silver economy will be RMB19trn (US$2trn) in 2035, accounting for 9.6% of China’s GDP. This is expected to rise to RMB50trn (US$6.96trn) by 2050. In other words, China will have both the world’s largest elderly consumer group and the world’s largest elderly consumer.

The Chinese government is leaning in. January’s State Council Opinion on Developing the Silver Economy listed 26 measures spanning wellness, tourism and retail; provincial plans in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have already earmarked “silver spending” as a priority growth sector . Policy tailwinds rarely align so neatly with consumer reality. For travel retailers, the message is stark: ignore the silver surge and you risk missing China’s most predictable source of incremental spend this decade.

Meet the silver traveller

Using our Q2‑2025 Outbound Travel Sentiment Survey, CTD carved the traveller universe into five motivational “economies”. Among them, the Silver Economy describes health‑conscious, digitally capable and increasingly confident senior travellers who view duty‑free as a space for memory‑making and gifting. Several traits make the segment commercially potent:

Underpinning all of this is health. Sleep aids, digestive supplements and immunity boosters rank top among silver consumers’ purchases  – categories still under‑represented on many duty‑free shelves.

What happens when they reach the airport?

Our duty‑free deep‑dive shows mature Chinese passengers still shop pragmatically – discounts (27 %) and guaranteed authenticity (24 %) are the two strongest motivators, well ahead of ‘treating myself’. Yet they also expect help: 74 % rate staff assistance as important, and 15 % say friend recommendations decide which brand they pick.

In other words, price wins attention, but reassurance and human service close the sale.

A bigger prize than incremental sales

Silver travellers are not just another segment; they are the bridge between China’s past thrift and its emerging quality‑of‑life economy. Winning their confidence unlocks multi‑generational influence: grandparents who return from Hainan with duty‑free collagen sachets soon become family KOLs on the best places to shop abroad.

Based on our model, across a five‑year horizon, one converted repeat silver traveller represents roughly 1.4 times the cumulative duty‑free value of a millennial or GenZ traveller.

Volume certainty – Unlike discretionary youth travel, medical tourism, family reunions and cruise shore‑leaves make senior outbound demand less cyclical.

Policy propulsion – Central and provincial subsidies for age‑friendly services will lower trip friction and raise outbound numbers.

Competitive whitespace – While most airport stores are caught up in Gen Z lipstick race, margins in health, nutrition and personalised gifting remain largely uncontested.

A call to action

Frankly, I believe duty-free has neglected this segment for too long. The shelves show it. The campaigns ignore it. The data doesn’t. 2025 will be remembered as the point when the Silver Economy became the dark horse – less noisy online, but armed with time, liquidity and a cultural instinct to bring something meaningful home.

At China Trading Desk we track five traveller economies, yet the silver cohort remains the least crowded and most scalable opportunity. Retailers who reposition now will capture loyalty before habits harden into routines.

Duty‑free has always thrived on scarcity – limited editions, fleeting audiences, restricted zones. But the future is not about fleeting impulses. The silver economy isn’t a niche; it is the new normal ageing into view at 11,000 Chinese birthdays a day.

The question is: will your retail experience meet them there?