Gen Alpha is extremely digitally connected and savvy. I don’t doubt that because my 9-year-old son, who is in the third grade, is doing well in his classroom job as the ‘Tech Guru!” Being that they are so good with electronic devices, so present on social media platforms, and are worshipped by their parents, it’s not surprising that many of them heavily influence family buying decisions. It’s time to explore the type of consumer that Gen Alpha will be and how you can prep for that if you are a marketer.
Who Exactly is Gen Alpha?
Before diving into Gen Alpha’s buying patterns and preferences, I will explain who exactly makes up this vast generational group. The generation includes babies born between 2012 and 2024. You may gasp when you read this, but as of this year, they’re an even larger group (globally) than the Baby Boomers were!
There are already more than 2.2 billion Gen Alphaers worldwide. They’re a very ethically and racially diverse generation, mainly because of America’s more liberal immigration policies from the late 1960’s to recently. A good 7% of Gen Alphaers identify themselves as being of mixed races in America alone. It’s not surprising that they expect to be treated with racial and ethnic equality, and they expect the same of society and the companies that they buy from.
Gen Alpha is being exposed to the world through TV channels, but they access it a bit differently. They are much more likely to stream content on channels like Hulu, Disney+, and Roku, and that’s just the beginning, on Smart TVs. They access content on YouTube and various social and social media platforms on multi-screen digital and mobile devices as well.
Smart TVs and the next generation of digital and mobile devices can do something that traditional radio, and even TV sets can’t. They can use machine-learning AI technologies to analyze engagement patterns and offer personalized suggestions based on these patterns. The suggestions are training Gen Alphaers to expect extremely personalized experiences when shopping.
Of course, Gen Alpha members still watch cable and other shows on old-fashioned TV sets, but they stream all sorts of TV content and videos much more often. A global marketing intelligence company that researches various consumer markets in detail, Mintel’s, most recent findings suggested that 96% of Gen Alphaers use at least one social platform daily.
I am not surprised that YouTube tops the daily social platform engagement list at 84% because my son is always watching YouTube videos. TikTok and Instagram came in second and third place at 70% and 65%. They are especially receptive to the ads, which are as long as a short-form video, and are more likely to buy the brands promoted.
How Should Marketers Approach Gen Alpha?
I mentioned that Gen Alpha already hugely influences their parents’ and families’ buying decisions. But their reach affects how entire global societies purchase things and services as well. I will explain how and why that is the case.
Global Web Index (GWI), a consumer research company, says that 61% of Gen Alphaers try to help others. 51% of them are worried about bullying and are trying to stop it. 87% of them want to stop climate change from getting more severe. So, they clearly care about social and environmental issues. That concern spills over into what they buy.
Gen Alpha doesn’t seem to consume content for the heck of it. They evaluate the brands being promoted for certain values and purchase from those companies whose brands match with their values.
Marketers should target gaming platforms because Gen Alpha is addicted to advanced video games. While almost ⅔ (62%) of them are trying to limit the amount of time they spend playing video games, you could say that Gen Alpha are a bunch of hard core gamers. I will tell you why I have said that. 98% of Gen Alphaers play video games. Eighty percent of them play for at least two hours daily.
What they do is get together with a group of friends and play games on platforms like Twitch and Discord. They love the community experiences that these games’ and platforms’ offer as well. Smart companies and marketers are noticing this and strategically inserting ads in these games–to get more sales by creating the element of sudden surprise.
Gen Alpha is Changing Things
If you thought that Gen Z was radical in their purchasing patterns and lifestyles, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Sure, Gen Z bent the rules of the game that the world lives by, but, as I have explained, Gen Alpha is going to totally change these rules and get people ready for the digital world, whether they like it or not. If you’re a smart marketer or company, you’re going to figure out what makes tick and adjust your branding and marketing strategies accordingly.
