Silver Influencers’ Touch: The Power of Perceived Closeness in Driving Collaboration Products Preference

This study explores the unique influence of silver influencers on consumer preference for collaboration products, focusing on perceived closeness as a key psychological mechanism. Given the significant gap in influencer marketing literature, which has predominantly centered on younger creators, this research investigates how inherent consumer characteristics such as gender and age groups systematically affect product preference for these emerging figures, and subsequently elucidates the precise psychological pathways through which perceived closeness mediates these relationships. The empirical findings reveal that women consistently showed more positive preference for silver influencers’ collaboration products than men. More importantly, perceived closeness mediated this effect, thereby highlighting women's greater receptivity to relational cues. In addition to gender effects, it was revealed that product preference was more positive as consumer age decreased. Correspondingly, perceived closeness also mediated this age-product preference relationship, which suggests that the unique appeal of silver influencers fosters distinct levels of closeness across different age segments. From a theoretical perspective, the findings are expected to contribute significantly to influencer marketing theory by expanding existing models to comprehensively include silver influencers and their unique appeal, thereby enriching the understanding of complex consumer behavior within this evolving domain. From a practical standpoint, this research offers actionable guidelines for marketers aiming to leverage the distinct power of silver influencers, specifically providing strategic insights for targeted product collaborations and optimized content creation designed to cultivate perceived closeness among specific consumer demographics.