Every fortnight we round up the most interesting and insightful writing about British Gen Alphas (born 2010-2024) from across the internet so you can stay bang up to speed on this emerging and fascinating cohort.
This time we’re talking: spending, normfluencers and content-ucation (does the world need another education portmanteau? Well, it just got one). Let’s go!
Gens Z and Alpha are set to shape the future of retail
By Stuart Chalmers for The Scotsman
This piece reports that 99% of parents seek their Alpha kids’ opinions when buying products for them (though on a purely practical level with babies and toddlers involved, how isn’t made clear) and that Gen A and Z’s preference for “dynamic, consumer-driven marketplaces, often on social media” is ushering in an era of ‘lifestyle commerce’, which is projected to quadruple in the next five years. Key to this is discovering, engaging with, and purchasing products without ever leaving their favourite apps and the heads up here is that brands must meet Alphas where they are.
Young raid Bank of Mum and Dad and hold all the cards
This piece outlines a global study about British Alpha’s growing influence on family purchases, especially in online educational resources, with 47% of parents buying these for their children, followed by 30% purchasing entertainment streaming services. It reports that 39% of parents are already investing in online education and are most likely to continue monthly subscriptions for teens and that by age 15, 71% of As will make their own non-essential purchases, and cards are apparently their preferred method (good news for gohenry, who featured last time) And one last stat that nicely syncs up with the ‘lifestyle commerce’ point above; 48% of British Alphas use social media to find product deals.
Impero Research Shows Gen A More Likely to Copy Their Friends than an Influencer or an Advertisement
Gen Y parents (here cited as being “known for their love of brands”) have influenced their Gen Alpha children’s attitudes and brand relationships and in this study, 1000 British parents with children aged 11-14 (87% of whom say their purchasing decisions are influenced by their Alpha kids) offer some insight into the Alpha experience. While 41% say their children desire branded products because of friends (so-called ‘normfluencers’) 35% attribute this to social media influencers - only 14% don't follow influencers at all. The study also highlights a "close-to-homeism" trend, where Gen Alpha focuses on personal issues like safety, employment, and the cost-of-living crisis, rather than global concerns.
Gen Alpha - The New Frontier for Beauty Brands
By Andrew McDougall for Mintel
This Podcast posits that Alphas' keen interest in beauty products is often misplaced (obviously ‘fine lines’ are not a problem for pre-teens) and could actually be damaging their skin. So messaging should focus on healthy skincare habits now and leave ‘beauty’ for later - with edu-tainment for Alphas (and their parents) a key strategy. Apparently, Alphas want to appear rich and are less interested in inclusivity and relatability than their Gen Z peers, which I’d love to see some stats on - but sadly weren’t in the report attached to the episode.
Gatekeeping Information is SO Boomer-Coded
By OK Cool
This report takes a global Zalpha (not just British Alpha) perspective but I’m letting it in because it is a visual delight and FULL of advice for Zalpah-focused brands wanting to win online; The decline of TikTok and Insta and the emergence of Substack (yay), Discord, Whatsapp broadcast channels and pi.fyi! IRL spaces are now inspired by the internet (not vice versa)! Zalphas want chaotic entertainment with discovery on hyperniche topics AKA content-ucation! This cohort sees the internet as fun and anti-elitist so brands should be themselves, be brave, and FFS only interrupt online discourse when they have something to add.