Temu knows more about us than Biedronka. Which brands reach people aged 55+ in Poland

In 2024, the brands that showed the most social media ads to people over 55 in Poland were Temu, Lidl and SkyShowtime. According to an analysis by Sotrender, a Polish social media analytics company, covering nearly 3,000 brands on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, Temu achieved 552 million ad impressions in this group, Lidl 412 million and SkyShowtime 257 million. The next places went to Allegro, Poland's largest online marketplace, and OLX.

Who knocks on our door most often?

Temu.

Then Lidl.

Then SkyShowtime.

Sotrender went through the ads of nearly 3,000 brands from 2024 and counted who showed them most often to people over fifty-five. Just off the podium are Allegro and OLX.

Wirtualnemedia.pl, a Polish media industry news site, noticed that Biedronka, Poland's largest discount chain, and McDonald's were missing from the ranking. I noticed something else. A Chinese shopping platform noticed the Polish grandma sooner than Polish marketing did.

Is showing an ad the same as valuing a customer?

No.

Knocking on the door is not the same as being invited in for tea.

552 million impressions mean that Temu pays for us to see these ads. They do not mean that anyone is talking to us. The algorithm threw us into the pool because we click, and we click because we like a bargain. Anyone who remembers what “rzucili” meant—word that a shop had suddenly got something in—will not let a promotion slip by.

The headline on wirtualnemedia.pl says these brands are “betting on silvers”. I would put it more cautiously: they are not throwing us out of the target group.

Who really talks to people aged 55+?

It gets more interesting further down the table. Sotrender also checked who directs the largest share of their ads to the oldest audience.

Waldemar Pawlak93%

Twój Ogródek89%

Source: Sotrender, „Gen Z vs silversi” [“Gen Z vs silvers”], 10 April 2025.

Waldemar Pawlak, a veteran Polish politician: 93 percent. A politician knows who turns out to vote.

The Twój Ogródek (“Your Garden”) profile: 89 percent. It knows who has an allotment.

And the single ad that went furthest in the 55+ group is not a shopping platform but water. Żywiec Zdrój, “Minerals+ – I wracasz do pionu” (“and you're back upright”), reach of 1.52 million. The slogan sounds as if someone at the agency already has a spine over fifty.

What does this mean for a brand that wants to reach people aged 50+?

That there is a free seat at the table. The top five places went to campaigns made for everyone, not for us. Reach in this group can be bought, as Temu has proved many times over. A conversation cannot be bought. You have to start it.