Gen Alpha has $28B in purchase power and likes these social networks
Consumers under 15 are a rising force and have clear-cut preferences when it comes to social media.
According to analysis of purchase data and a survey of more than 35,000 parents/guardians with children under the age of 15 from Numerator, Gen Alpha (the consumer generation after Gen Z) has an estimated $28 billion in direct purchasing power.
More than half (53%) of surveyed Gen Alpha parents report giving some sort of allowance to their children, with the average weekly allowance being $22 for personal spending and saving.
Numerator also examined social media preferences of Gen Alpha consumers, finding that kids aged 11-14 drive social media adoption in this age demographic. The most popular social media apps among Gen Alpha consumers are YouTube (46%, 90% of users check it daily), TikTok (21%, 89%), Snapchat (14%, 84%), Instagram (14%, 78%) and Facebook (10%, 65%).
For personal electronic devices, Gen Alpha prefers tablets (49%) and cell phones (38%) over televisions (30%), video game consoles (28%) and computers/laptops (26%).
Other interesting findings include:
- Gen Alpha consumers use allowance dollars to purchase toys (48%), snacks (42%), beverages (31%), entertainment (31%), and electronics (29%).
- More than one-third (35%) of surveyed Gen Alpha households have a shared physical shopping list, while 14% have a shared digital list. In addition, surveyed parents say that their children usually / always have independence when choosing snacks (50%), apparel (44%), beverages (41%), fast food (37%), entertainment (36%), electronics (35%), and school supplies (34%).
- Close to half (47%) of surveyed Gen Alpha parents say they let their children shop independently in-store more than half of the time, compared to 22% who do so for online shopping.
- Gen Alpha households are 31% more likely to be higher income (more than $125,000 household income), but also 41% more likely to be in the bottom 10th percentile of purchasing power as their dollars are stretched across their larger households.
- Surveyed households with Gen Alpha children are 21% more likely to be Asian and 48% more likely to be Hispanic. Compared to all Gen Alpha households, first-generation immigrant households with Gen Alpha children are purchasing more international snack and candy brands, such as Ferrero Nutella, Meiji Hello Panda, Barcel Takis, and Glico Pocky. Health and beauty brands such as Shiseido Co., Pico and Salonpas also overindex with first-generation Gen Alpha households.
- Seven-in-10 (69%) Gen Alpha children have requested something they saw in an advertisement, with 50% asking for something before age 6.
[READ MORE: Claire’s teams up with young ‘Gen Zalpha’ influencers]
