Sharleen Ernster, a mother of two daughters aged 14 and 16 living in Los Angeles, hadn’t heard of Brandy Melville a few years ago. Today, her Gen Alpha daughter shapes about half of the family’s discretionary spending, and Ernster is a big fan. “There are so many brands I would never know about without her recommendations from TikTok and YouTube,” she says. “Beauty is huge. My 14-year-old knows more about beauty products than I do, and we shop everywhere from CVS and Amazon to Sephora. Whatever she discovers on TikTok and Snapchat affects our whole family.”
Ernster is not alone. Gen Alpha, born between 2013 and 2025 and now roughly one to 15 years old, holds significant sway over their parents and households. Market researcher GWI reports that a “clear majority” of eight to 11-year-olds have a say—sometimes the final say—in household purchases, from toys to food. According to public relations firm DKC, Gen Alpha already has $100 billion in direct spending power. With an estimated $5.5 trillion in spending power by 2029 as the oldest begin to work, brands that connect with them have a major growth opportunity.
“Gen Alpha are like mini bosses. They have this pull over the family because they really advocate for what they want, and they’re used to everything being commercialized,” says Alice Crossley, an analyst at The Future Laboratory who has co-authored several reports on Gen Alpha and their Gen Z parents.
Part of their influence comes from their millennial and Gen Z parents, who are “very tuned into mental wellbeing and encourage children to speak up about what they want,” Crossley adds. One Vogue Business colleague recently shared that she spends her weekends on outings planned for her five-year-old son. As millennials, we laughed at the contrast—as kids, we were dragged along on errands or to department stores. This shift is highlighted in a 2025 Hilton report, which states that about 70% of parents choose holiday destinations based on their children’s interests, a number that continues to grow as younger generations gain more influence at home.
“We took a week-long trip to NYC recently because my daughter is obsessed with moving there when she’s older. We adopted a second cat at her urging. The list goes on,” says Jill Ettinger, another LA-based parent with a 12-year-old daughter who influences at least 40% to 50% of her spending.
“Gen Alpha influences household decisions more collaboratively than previous generations. Successful strategies often focus on shared experiences—whether gaming, beauty, food, or entertainment—rather than marketing to youth in isolation,” says Lucy Robertson, global head of brand marketing at creator agency Buttermilk. “In doing so, brands are increasingly bridging traditional age gaps, becoming multi-generational rather than segmented by age.”
A Blurring of Age-Specific Culture
With the oldest Gen Alphas only in their teens, it’s still early to fully map their consumer behavior, especially for luxury brands. However, Bain & Company has found that Gen Alpha—at least the older ones—”approach premium brands and luxury categories much, much earlier than Gen Z,” says senior partner Federica Levato, thanks to their “hyper-digital DNA.”
Most parents interviewed for this story say their children are brand-aware, with sportswear giants like Nike and Adidas being the most common labels.
“Gen Alphas don’t value status as much as older generations do, but they care about standing out and being seen as individuals. Brands are a way for them to express themselves, and any product that helps them differentiate is super relevant,” Levato adds.
Gen Alpha, like actor Owen Cooper, is currently aged 1-15 and projected to have $5.5 trillion in spending power by 2029.One reason for Generation Alpha’s heightened brand awareness is the decline of tween culture, or what Crossley calls the “flattening of age-appropriate culture.” With short-form video algorithms showing everyone similar content, people of all ages are now exposed to the same material, leaving less that is specifically tailored for those in their formative years.
“When I was growing up, if you were a tween, you had magazines like Girl Talk. As an 11-year-old, you had your own separate culture, but that really doesn’t exist anymore. Now there’s just kids and adults—there’s no middle ground of tween or teeny-bopper culture,” Crossley explains.
Even Gen Alpha children without their own phones often see siblings or parents watching this content. “This cultural flattening has led to their strong brand affinity, like the ‘Sephora kids’ phenomenon, where Gen Alpha is asking for $50 moisturizers,” she says. “They’re seeing content they might not have encountered before.”
Screen Time Limitations
In response to this shift, governments, platforms, and parents are becoming more aware of the negative effects of screen time. Many Gen Z and millennial parents, having lived through the social media boom and experienced phone addiction themselves, are taking action. Some admit their children often peek over their shoulders at social media.
To curb this, parents are enforcing stricter screen time rules. Most parents with children under 10 allow little to no screen time, while those with older kids often restrict it to YouTube on the TV rather than on personal devices, so they can better monitor what their children watch.
Kenton, mother of two teens aged 13 and 15, says, “We have no screens at home from Monday to Thursday, except for laptops for homework. From Friday after school through the weekend, they can use their phones. We also ban phones and laptops in bedrooms in the evenings, and no phones at the table.”
Lianne Wiggins, 43, with two Gen Alpha children aged seven and nine, adds, “They get limited screen time after school and on weekends, but since they’re in full-time school and aftercare, it’s very limited. On weekends, between activities, they can have some screen time—but no YouTube or phones, only films and TV series.”
Governments and platforms are also stepping in. Australia recently banned social media accounts for under-16s, and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to ban access for under-15s if the EU doesn’t make progress on safety and reducing screen time. Meanwhile, Pinterest removed sharing features for under-16s in 2022, preventing teen users from making their boards public.
“Obviously, tech and social media aren’t going away, but I think many Gen Alphas are growing up with more safeguards,” Crossley notes. “Gen Z and young millennial parents are trying to establish healthy habits.”
Many parents report their children spend significant time outdoors or in activities, which naturally reduces screen time. This trend of unplugging is also growing among Gen Z, who are tired of algorithms and seeking real-life experiences. According to GWI, Gen Alpha is following suit: from 2021 to 2025, there was a 44% increase in 8- to 15-year-olds who prefer watching movies in cinemas, and 40% say they take breaks from their devices. Additionally, since 2023, there has been a 16% rise in children listing physical toys on their wishlists and an 8% increase in those who play board games.Gen Alpha loves “a lot,” according to GWI. This is an interesting trend. As brands invest heavily in social media and virtual worlds, they should remember that the next generation also values physical products and real-world experiences.
Co-creation is key
Experts agree that Gen Alpha is more actively involved in social media and screen time than Gen Z or millennials. For brands, this means the future of social media marketing lies in co-creation, not just broadcasting. Today’s kids prefer making and posting videos on TikTok or YouTube, messaging on Snapchat, and building worlds in Roblox or Minecraft over passive scrolling. GWI data shows that 13% of Gen Alphas want to be content creators when they grow up, compared to only 8% who want to be teachers.
“Audiences of all ages are becoming more skeptical of polished, perfect content, and Gen Alpha is growing up in this new environment. For them, the most influential creators feel like peers or collaborators, not distant celebrities. This helps explain why ‘YouTuber’ or ‘influencer’ is consistently a top career choice for this generation,” says Robertson of Buttermilk. Brands are catching on. For example, Elf Beauty actively talks with consumers in comment sections and develops products based on their feedback.
Elf Beauty is also on Roblox with its ‘Elf Up’ world, “where players can explore, play, and express themselves in a game-like setting instead of just passively watching a post,” she adds. This is a smart move. GWI reports that 38% of gamers aged 12 to 15 are most interested in games that involve building or creating. This has led to a rise in “sandbox-style” games like Roblox, whose usage has nearly doubled since 2021. Gen Alpha makes up about a third (33%) of Roblox users. Over the past five years, major brands like Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger have established a strong presence on the platform. Starting in 2025, Gen Alpha will be able to buy real-world products on Roblox that are inspired by their digital creations.
For Gen Alpha, creators like KSI—co-founder of Prime Drink—are celebrities, and they don’t see a difference between these influencers and traditional stars.
Laura Cioffi from London remembers her son coming home and asking how much a Balenciaga hoodie cost after seeing it on a friend’s Fortnite avatar. “This is how Gen Alpha discovers brands—through gaming platforms, recommendations from friends in digital spaces, and YouTube content. Traditional advertising like TV commercials just doesn’t reach them,” she says.
Gaming and social media blend online and offline activities. GWI data shows that more teens are playing video games with friends in person. For instance, engagement with Mario Party has grown by 11% since 2021. Games can help young teens form real-life friendships, and brands should consider these social “party” moments when investing in gaming, notes GWI.
Beyond gaming, Gen Alpha is using design tools like Canva and AI platforms like Midjourney to create online. “Right now, my 10-year-old daughter is really into Canva and making movies on it. She’s also interested in learning Procreate,” says Louise Rynehart, a 45-year-old mother from the UK Midlands.
Viviane Paraschiv, whose daughter is four, says, “We’ve used ChatGPT to turn her drawings into vector images, and I’ve used Midjourney to make posters for her bedroom. It was a lot of fun.”
My colleague Nicole Dyson talks about her 14-year-old nephew: “When he was younger, he used Capcut to make AI-generated videos for his TikTok account, mostly about FIFA gaming, to get clicks and go viral. Now, his social media is all about taking selfies and covering his face with emojis. It reminds me of the millennial era with dog filters and sparkly crowns on Snapchat.”
Beyond screens, Gen Alpha integrates technology into their daily lives, especially through smart devices.A colleague at Vogue Business recently bought a Kids Alexa for her daughter, who had asked for one. Her eight-year-old daughter isn’t thrilled, however, because it filters out swear words—meaning she can’t listen to Charli XCX. In the UK, 25% of Gen Alpha children with smart devices talk to apps like Alexa every day. Yet, according to YouGov, only 11% speak daily to their grandfather, and just 14% to their grandmother. For brands outside of Amazon, which is building early loyalty through Alexa, this presents a challenge: Alexa Kids has also blocked shopping features and ads for children.
Beauty Boom
While it’s still too early to predict where Gen Alpha will focus their luxury spending, beauty is one category where they are already investing and “heavily influencing their parents,” says Bain’s Levato.
Driven by the viral reach of TikTok and YouTube, numerous beauty brands have entered the market in recent years targeting Gen Alpha—often called the Sephora kids generation. But as cultural trends become more homogenized, brands need to be clear about who their products are for. Gen Alpha is becoming increasingly aware of the risks of using adult formulas, which can damage their skin with harsh ingredients like AHAs or retinols.
Last year, Kiehl’s launched a campaign warning against the rise of 10-step skincare routines for those under 15, as noted by GWI. Meanwhile, Swedish pharmacies banned the sale of certain products to children.
Gen Alpha is growing more knowledgeable about beauty ingredients and what to avoid. Robin Weiss, 58, based in Mexico City, has 10-year-old twin girls who “seem to know everything about beauty—not only what products are available, but also where they’re made and whether they’re good for kids.”
Last year, Shay Mitchell faced criticism for launching a skincare brand aimed at Gen Alpha children as young as three, with critics arguing it imposed beauty standards too early. Other brands, like Bubble Skincare and Byoma, originally targeted Gen Z but have grown rapidly in recent years by appealing to older Gen Alphas and their parents. They emphasize clear messaging around protecting the skin barrier and creating safe skincare for young complexions.
“My children’s favorite outing is to Sephora or Space NK. They have phones but not smartphones, and they watch YouTube on the TV with parental controls, but they hear about brands from YouTube and friends at school,” says one London-based parent who wished to remain anonymous. Many top brands for this generation, such as Bubble and Byoma, feature incredibly bright, sensory packaging that stands out on store shelves.
“I think this move toward sensory products is a subconscious pushback against tech,” says Crossley. “It’s about anything they can really feel and experience. Going to Sephora is very tactile and sensory, so the products that resonate with them are those rooted in real life and the moment.”
Gen Alpha boys are also a fast-growing demographic in beauty, particularly in fragrance. “I have two boys, 13 and 15. They’re obsessed with the haircut styles they see on their favorite sports stars or YouTubers, but they also always want to buy spot stickers, special hair wax, cologne, and salt spray. They’re heavily influenced by TikTok,” says Andraya Kenton, 43, who splits her time between Bali and the UK.
Secondhand and Smaller Players
Experts agree that Gen Alpha children are growing up with secondhand closets from birth, which is likely to shape their consumer behavior and boost the circular economy in the future.
In a survey by The Future Laboratory of Gen Z parents across the UK, the US, and Australia—many of whom have Gen Alpha children—the vast majority mentioned secondhand options when asked about buying things for their children. “Growing up where almost everything you have is secondhand is going to have a fascinating impact on how they think about value as they come of age,” Crossley says. “On one hand, they’re exposed to capitalist ideas through brand literacy and advertising, but at the same time, their everyday lives are marked by a massive…”The move towards circular fashion is becoming a family affair. Fashion journalist Victoria Moss notes that her eight-year-old daughter is well aware that many of her clothes come from Vinted. “We also sell things on there, so she has a good sense of what things cost,” Moss explains. “She knows how much we can sell a stack of books for and what we pay to buy them.”
This mindset is shared by other parents. Elisabetta Stamm, a 42-year-old Copenhagen-based designer and founder of the streetwear label Stamm, says her 11-year-old son loves shopping secondhand and at flea markets. Several parents of tweens I spoke with echoed this, noting their children enjoy vintage shopping as an activity in itself.
Natasha Advani, founder of the vintage label Not/Applicable, says her five-year-old son Tiger is already grasping the idea of vintage. “He feels so proud wearing a vintage Harley Davidson T-shirt I found for him, because he knows it’s a rare piece I sourced on one of my trips,” she shares. “Right now, he’s really into motorcycles, so he has me searching for West Coast Choppers tees—he loves wearing something unique that not everyone else has.”
For Gen Alpha, secondhand shopping seems like a natural evolution from Gen Z, driven by a desire for individuality and clothing with a story. Beyond buying and selling on platforms like Vinted, older Gen Alphas are also seeking out small, community-based brands to build their cultural credibility. For example, my 12-year-old nephew’s Christmas list included several items from Yelir World, a little-known streetwear brand based in Cheshire. He discovered it when a school friend showed it to him online, and he was so inspired that he researched the founder’s journey from humble beginnings to success.
Other parents and relatives mention similar niche streetwear brands. “My nephew is into a brand called Bricc. It surprised me because it seems to have a cult following in his circle,” says Dyson. “He couldn’t wait to post about it online and tag the brand founder for a repost when his order arrived.”
While smaller hype-driven labels and viral beauty brands are popular for now, as Gen Alpha matures, they may engage more with luxury fashion. Brands should be prepared: raised by digitally savvy, value-conscious parents, this generation’s online behavior is more curated and focused on shared experiences and creativity. Winning them over will require involving Gen Alpha as active participants in both digital and real-world spaces. Successful brands won’t just market to children—they’ll integrate themselves into the worlds Gen Alpha is creating, both online and off.
More on this topic:
– Gen Z Broke the Marketing Funnel, What Now?
– Generational Breakdown: Understanding the Millennial Consumer
– Generational Breakdown: Understanding the Gen X Consumer
– Generational Breakdown: Understanding the Baby Boomer Consumer
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions About Generation Alpha
Basic Definitions Demographics
Who is Generation Alpha
Generation Alpha includes anyone born from 2010 to 2024 They are the children of Millennials and the younger siblings of Gen Z
Why are they called Alpha
The name follows Generation Z so researchers went back to the start of the Greek alphabet It signifies a new beginning and the first generation born entirely in the 21st century
How is Gen Alpha different from Gen Z
While Gen Z were the first digital natives Gen Alpha are the first generation born into a world of smartphones tablets voice assistants and ondemand content from birth Theyve never known a world without these technologies
Technology Behavior
Are they really that techsavvy
Yes intuitively They often learn to swipe a screen before they can talk or walk They expect technology to be interactive immediate and visually engaging
What are some common traits of Gen Alpha
They are visual learners highly comfortable with touchscreens and voice commands have shorter attention spans for passive content and are used to personalized digital experiences
What platforms or apps are popular with Gen Alpha
YouTube Kids Roblox Minecraft and apps like TikTok are huge They engage more with interactive gaming platforms and video content than traditional social media
Parenting Education
How should I parent a Gen Alpha child
Balance is key Encourage creativity and critical thinking through technology but also enforce strict screen time limits and prioritize realworld play social interaction and outdoor activities
What challenges do parents of Gen Alpha face
Major challenges include managing screen time addiction navigating online safety and cyberbullying risks and combating the effects of algorithmdriven content on attention spans and selfimage
How do they learn best
They thrive with interactive handson and visual learning methods Think educational apps gamified lessons video tutorials and projectbased learning rather than long lectures or textheavy materials
Society The Future
What impact will Gen Alpha have on the future
As true digital natives they will likely drive further adoption of AI VRAR and seamless