You can summarize the key variance in purchasing behavior between Generation Alphas and their predecessors in one sentence. Young people used to hate being told that they were anything like their parents; Alphas aspire to it. While it’s true that the oldest Alphas are just fourteen years old, many are already driving purchasing decisions for their entire households. Plus, Alphas’ shopping behavior may surprise you.
On an ethical level, Gen Alphas are still children and need to be protected whenever possible. But they aren’t experiencing childhood in the same way as their predecessors. They’ve had access to a world of information since conception and they were raised by convention-shucking millennials. Because of this, they’re unlike any generation that’s come before.
Alpha Influence
Children begin influencing household purchasing around age five. Alphas as the youngest consumer generation is also the most socially conscious and brand ethos-oriented, and many moderately woke millennial parents trust their children’s research to steer certain household purchases.
The trust goes both ways. While Alphas have more purchasing autonomy than their predecessors did at the same age, Alphas are also more inclined to buy from the same brands as their parents. Where did this phenomenon originate, what are they buying, and what does it mean?
By the end of 2024 more than $5.39 trillion will be spent on Gen Alphas. This number is expected to increase to $10 billion a year in the near future, which means that Alphas will control nearly as much global spend as their Gen Z and millennial predecessors combined. The first Alphas will become adults in 2029, so their spending power is still limited by the constraints of their parents’ income…for now.
Remember when millennials were the most brand conscious generation? Well, any youngest generation is always more brand-conscious than those that came before. Alphas are no exception, amplifying Gen Z by taking an immediate, unparalleled interest in brands’ reputations, ethos, and sustainability.
Societal Factors Shaping Alphas
Alphas inherited a world already inundated with technology, which means that many tech-savvy children are more brand conscious than their boomer grandparents. It makes sense, they’ve been doing brand research since they arrived on this highly connected planet. And, when it comes to preferring brands with a positive global impact, Alphas’ entitled message for their predecessors is “Hold my sippy cup.” They’ll expect stronger representation for historically marginalized communities, better sustainability, and more dynamic physical stores than any generation that came before.
Gen X and boomers grew up with a fourth wall between children and adults. Kids and their parents were part of very distinct, age-driven social sects and it was viewed as inappropriate for adults to share their personal struggles with younger people. This led to kids mythologizing adulthood and seeing themselves as a separate entity, almost a different species, than their elders. Adulthood was unimaginable and you can see a lot of this play out in how millennials are navigating their thirty-something selves now. Millennials had the benefit of social media on which to be openly, vocally appalled by the harsh realities and expectations of growing up. In response to the digital rabble-rousing of their peers, millennials doubled down on childhood nostalgia. In fact, millennial nostalgia for the early aughts was so strong that Gen Z inherited it, despite not having experienced the heyday of Paris Hilton and Jenny from the Block.
Many of the societal norms that we once held about aging are now being dispelled. One could argue that Alphas are denied the guilt-free period of an innocent childhood faced with a complex, fractious, climate-challenged world. Surprisingly, Alphas see influencers in their 70s giving personal anecdotes about sexual wellness. They heard their millennial parents (quite vocally) contend with the harsh realities of “adulting.” But rather than looking down on older generations for being vocal about their life experiences, Alphas respect it. And in a case of transference, they expect the same level of transparency from the brands they patronize.
What They’re Buying: Botox Baby Boom
Alphas are opinionated. They consider stores geared towards “tweens” to be more “cringe” than exciting. The Pollyanna greeting card version of early youth from the early aughts does not sell to them. Malls sprinkled with Limited Too and Delia’s, and those earlier teen generations hoisting shopping bags printed with Abercombie’s shirtless heteronormative heartthrobs don’t align with the diverse, inclusive representations that Alpha’s are being taught to expect.
Even now that “tween” retailers use diverse models, and some talk a bit about mental health, such stores feel reminiscent of a highly conformist, class-elitist coming-of-age meme. Gen Alphas respectfully decline the hype. What’s taken its place is a generation of young people that don’t necessarily see their parents as much different from them. And rather than shutting their parents out and frolicking with their peers in search of their own identities, Alphas emulate them––having eight out of ten of the same favorite brands as their millennial parents. (Sephora, Lululemon and Target, oh my!)
Ready for things to get a little Twilight Zone-esque (for anyone out there who still remembers Rod Serling)? Gen Alpha is already using the same skincare as their millennial parents— including retinol. Despite Gen Z being the youngest generation to start getting Botox, they’re now screaming from the rafters of social media that they’re “aging like milk” due to the stress and uncertainty of modern society. Alphas heard them loud and clear, and they’re setting a whole new precedent for young folks buying anti-aging products. They’re already buying retinol and hyaluronic acid and, I suspect, they’ll be the youngest generation yet to engage in cosmetic procedures once they can afford to. Right now, their parents are too busy for makeovers while they are trying to find a two-bedroom home under $550,000.
Start with Respect
On an ethical level, Gen Alphas are still children and need to be protected whenever possible. But they aren’t experiencing childhood in the same way as their predecessors. They’ve had access to a world of information since conception and they were raised by convention-shucking millennials. Because of this, they’re unlike any generation that’s come before. Brands and retailers that don’t want to make them cringe need to talk to Alphas not as early aughts tween, but as who they really are — a burgeoning cohort of humans trying to find their way in a confusing, rapidly evolving world where nothing is certain. If the Alphas continue on course, they may be the one generation that makes enough good trouble to shift the focus of consumer-driven marketplaces.
