Study: Gen Alpha spending power hits $100B
While much has been made of Gen Z’s growing spending power, a younger age cohort is also making up a large share of consumer spending.
Gen Alpha, roughly defined as those born between 2010 and 2024, has eclipsed $100 billion in annual spending power, according to new research from DKC Analytics. The average Gen Alpha child has roughly $67 of their own money to spend in a typical week, totaling approximately $3,484 per year.
The majority (91%) of Gen Alpha are actively earning money through payment for chores, payment for good grades or behavior, doing odd jobs outside of the house, and online selling/reselling. Eighty-three percent of parents provide an allowance, with $20 being the median weekly allowance for Gen Alpha children.
[READ MORE: Survey: Gen Z aims to cut spending, save more]
According to the report, more than four-in-10 (42%) Gen Alpha parents say that their household spending is influenced by their child’s opinions. This rises to nearly half (49%) for those with a household income greater than $100K.
Gen Alpha is not shy about their brand preferences either. When asked, a majority (86%) of parents could name a brand or retailers they learned about from their child. The most popular brands/retailers include Roblox, Nike, Amazon and Shein.
Food (99%), movies/TV (97%), video games (96%) and music (96%) are the categories where parents’ spending decisions are most impacted by their Gen Alpha children’s opinions. Two-thirds (66%) of parents have tried new or different foods based on their child’s recommendations. Traveling to a new or different vacation destination (52%), trying new beauty products (49%) and watching new or different sports (46%) were also areas when parents made new decisions based on Gen Alpha opinions.
Additional insights from the survey include the following:
- 61% of Gen Alpha parents are making more purchases online.
- 66% of parents say their Gen Alpha children will eventually depend on AI to shop (an increase of 11% from 2024).
- 77% of parents say their Gen Alpha children are screen addicts.
- 66% of parents now know online influences and content creators followed by their Gen Alpha child.
DKC Analytics surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults between May 29 and June 2, 2025. All respondents are currently parents of at least one Gen Alpha child aged eight to 14.
