Generation Alpha is the future generation of consumers born between 2010 and 2025. Although they just turned 12, Generation Alpha has already become the primary target for brands.
Over 2 billion people will be classified as Generation Alpha by 2024. Many of them already use technology for entertainment, communication, and education.
Investing early in building loyalty within the cohort will pay off for brands while this generation grows.
Ability to make buying decisions
Children use technology aside from their parents, building their relationships with brands. Not surprisingly, they have some ability to make buying decisions – according to surveys many of them have access to an Amazon Prime account.
Brands looking to reach and target Gen Alpha need to consider how they will change some industries and the importance of transparent communication.
Gen Alpha tends to be visual and reacts the best with these media types. When asked how they would love to make purchases in a decade, Gen Alpha responded they plan to buy by using smartphones, a physical shop with their minds, and a voice assistant.
Several common characteristics
Gen Alpha members have unique interests, but as a group of people, they will share a few common characteristics shaped by macro-level influences.
What matters to Gen Alpha?
Activism. This group will prioritize purchasing from sustainable companies.
Digital-first. Over 60 percent of children aged 8 to 11 have access to a smartphone at home.
The post-Covid normal. Social distancing pushed Gen Alpha to digital forums to interact with people online. This is why they will lean on the Metaverse as a meeting place.
Gen alpha and social media
When Gen Alpha “replaces” Gen Z using social and video content as marketing tools will become an imperative. Although it won’t be hard to reach Gen Alpha, keeping them could get much more complicated. Young people spend an hour daily watching videos on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. With shorter attention spans and more intense digital literacy, young people won’t be affected by the content they don’t find compelling or authentic.
A strong technological challenge
Millennials are parents of kids growing up in search engines, social networking, and the digitization era. Today’s children are widely exposed to voice search, artificial intelligence, and hyper-personalized experiences. Therefore they expect more from their day-to-day experiences.
Brands looking to connect with Gen Alpha will face a significant technological challenge. This entire generation is fed a diet of smartphones and instant accessibility. Nobody should forget that this is the first generation born in the 21st century, and technology will always be an essential tool for engaging them.
Targeting two generations at the same time
How do you engage kids and their parents at the same time? Gen alpha tends to influence their parents’ purchasing decisions greatly – Millennials are more willing to spend money on their children.
Marketers will have to be very careful while marketing to kids as they’ll need to be ethical and empowering to win kids’ loyalty and parents’ trust.
