Older audiences fuelling fresh wave of influencer growth, survey shows

Influencer content is no longer a youth-driven category, with older viewers now powering some of the fastest growth in how people watch online video in the UK and United States.

Across the UK and US, seven in 10 internet users watch influencer videos at least once a week, but the most striking growth since 2020 has come from audiences aged 55-64, new data from Ampere Analysis has shown. Weekly viewing in this group has risen significantly in both countries, signalling a shift in behaviour among consumers who once relied almost entirely on linear and subscription TV.

The trend comes amid a broader mainstreaming of creator-led entertainment, with experts recently telling The Daily Influence that platforms are positioning content creators as a new talent pipeline. 

Broadcasters have increasingly turned to creators to front original commissions, from Apple TV+’s Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars with food creators Topjaw to Netflix’s preschool series from YouTube star Miss Rachel.

Ampere links the demographic shift in part to the rapid rise of connected TV devices among older consumers. 

Smart TV adoption among 55-64-year-olds has climbed sharply since 2020, bringing platforms like YouTube and TikTok into a living-room environment traditionally dominated by broadcasters. With creator content now available on the same screen as films, series and news programming, viewing habits across age groups are converging.

“The biggest surprise in our latest data wasn’t how popular influencer videos have become – it is how rapidly this trend has extended to older audiences,” said Annabel Yeomans, senior research manager at Ampere Analysis. 

“As platforms like YouTube and TikTok become part of living-room viewing, the lines between social and traditional platforms are blurring,” she added.

With older viewers now adopting creator-led formats at scale, Ampere notes that the fastest growth segments for YouTube and TikTok over the past year have come from consumers aged 55 and above, a shift that expands the commercial opportunity for creators well beyond their historically younger core audience.