A senior citizens organization of Liaoning province has announced plans to build a shopping mall in the city of Shenyang catering especially to the elderly and their increasing needs, on Nov 2, because of a rapidly increasing number of elderly.

The city now has 1.64 million people aged 60 or above, accounting for more than a fifth of the total population, so, in the words of one official, "We're going to open a shopping center complex that has a recreation center, lecture halls, and a movie theater."

In spite of the increasing number of "grey"consumers, retailers in Shenyang seem to undervalue their purchasing power and, so far, retailer in the city has only a counter or a section that caters to senior citizen needs, and, as one local shopper complains, "They're reluctant to give a discount on clothing, health supplements, or things that my parents need, in spite of their big sales for other things."

Others, however, see great business opportunities in this demographic shift, for example, the official China Report on Silver Industry Development (2014), or "aging economy", which points out that, "China will rank No 1 worldwide in the grey economy, with spending estimated at 1.06 trillion yuan ($167 billion) by 2050."

In commenting on this promising industry, one local businessman remarked, "We could make a fortune from grey people as long as we put ourselves in their shoes," then went on to comment that these consumers do have high demand for quality services.

Shenyang's new shopping mall for elderly citizens is a joint effort of the provincial senior citizens organization and a group of local enterprises.