Who are considered Generation Alpha.
Those born between 2010 and 2025 are children of Millennials and younger Gen X.
The name was coined by the Australian social researcher Mark McGrindle in 2005. It refers to the generation born exclusively in the 21st century, and it appears that they will exert unprecedented power.
More than 2.7 million Alpha children are born around the world every week. By the end of 2024 there will be about 2 billion, making them the greatest generation in history. They represent the future and are the lens to look and understand beyond the next decade. Although very young, they are influencing their family's markets and are early adopters of technology.
Let's get to know them.
Alpha will live longer and work later in life. They will acquire lifelong education until 2050, with the 50% being university qualified. They will become the largest generation of middle class consumers the world has ever known.
Their average life expectancy will be 80.9 years for men and 85 for women. This compares with 73.1 and 79.5 in 1988, making Alpha the longest generation.
Training will take them longer so they live more with their parents. The beginning of the adult stage which includes marriage, responsibilities and children, will be delayed more than the previous two generations.
Young Alpha display social psychological and commercial complexity much earlier in childhood. Their unprecedented global connectivity through technology is pushing them to become aware, engaged with the environment and become consumers much earlier in childhood.
They were born at the same time as the iPad, Instagram and the word ”app”. They see screens in front of them at a younger age as pacifiers, entertainment and educational aids.
Their baptism in technology will help them become the entrepreneurial generation according to Dan Schawbel researcher in the workplace. Continuing on to Generation Alpha in 2014, Schawbel predicted that each generation from now on will become more entrepreneurial due to greater access to information, people and resources earlier. We will see many Alpha entrepreneurs starting before their 10 years old. Through their failures they will learn a lot about the next venture. They will ultimately be more successful entrepreneurs because they will have taken more risks earlier. They will have more time to build reputations and relationships compared to previous generations.
Proof the YouTube content creator with the highest income in 2020 was nine-year-old Ryan Kaji, whose channel Ryan World generated $29.5 million in advertising revenue according to Forbes. The boy, under the supervision of his parents, made videos unrolling and presenting toys. He has his own line of branded children's products, now stocked at major U.S. retailers including Target, Walmart and Amazon.
Another Alpha the seven-year-old Anastasia “Nastya”Redzinskaya. She is the only woman in the top 10 content creators on YouTube, whose channels have earned 18.5 million US dollars.
Both Ryan and Nastya brag about the Global audience while Alpha in general, are culturally diverse and mostly internationally oriented.
Consumption habits
Their numerical superiority and wealth will make them attractive consumers for future businesses. While their influence even as young children is not in doubt.
The American form AdAge, records that the 81% of the Alpha generation are having a significant impact on family purchases. While those under 12 years old the purchases worth US$500 billion.
They are influenced by their older and more noble parents, of previous generations and as a result they become very lax. In any attempt to reach them or sell them, their parents should be part of the marketing campaign.
Exposed almost from birth to digital advertising, unaware of the pre-social networking era, they communicate and shop mostly via mobile. They were formed in an era of individualisation and adaptation. They can print their name on books, clothing, mugs and anything else you can imagine.
In 2015, the US Pew Research Center found that 81% of parents with children aged 5 and under watched videos or played games on an electronic device on a daily basis.
Social media stars have a decisive influence on consumers aged between 6 and 12 years old. A quarter cite content creators on Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat as the main influence on their purchases.
According to a 2019 report from the British Market Research Company Wanderman Thompson commerce (WTC), young people between the ages of 6 and 16 are affected by a wider range of factors, most of which are external. Quite simply in Generation Alpha they become aware and engaged with their environment at a younger age and become consumers more quickly. This is largely as a result of their unprecedented global connectivity through technology.
We have gone far beyond the traditional games and playground. Now children are influenced by social media, programmatic advertising and TV on demand.
The WTC research found that Generation Alpha is copying its parents in its method of shopping. If they buy online they will do so more and more, and more importantly without any desire to wait. This provides a clear message to e-commerce retailers to invest in immediacy in order deliveries.
Although 49% of children in the US and 42% in the UK surveyed had access to an Amazon account, Alpha is not yet ready to abandon the traditional way of shopping.
The convenience and exciting experiences offered by technology are at the heart of the markets of the future. At the same time, the majority of these kids want both online and physical shopping in perfect harmony.
These findings highlight the need for retailers to adopt a multichannel approach to working with the next generation of shoppers. They must be prepared to use new technologies to complement rather than replace the physical store.
While the era of Generation Alpha seems distant, the pace of technological change in today's world creates the need for early prediction. Technological achievements have already shaped consumer habits. Now it's up to retailers and business owners to understand the next great generation before they even start shopping.
Who are the Alpha generation after all.
Generation Alpha is likely to be more conscientious consumers. They will buy from businesses aligned with their values and with an identity.
Personalized and highly convenient online shopping is the minimum for Alpha. They are unbearably picky and extremely demanding than previous generations. Growing up with e-commerce they expect to receive their products faster by 25% than their parents with a maximum of two days.
Finally, environmental protection is a key concern for Generation Alpha. They will favour businesses with recyclable packaging and materials, low waste operations and carbon neutral policies.
By Arabella Roden
