What comes to mind when you think of Gen Alpha? Their love of perplexing slang and in-jokes like “Skibidi Toilet” and “rizz”? The stampedes they cause in beauty stores (we’re looking at you Sephora Kids)? Whatever your preconceptions, it will be crucial for brands to understand this cohort in the near future as their behaviors and consumption habits grow in influence.
One area that will be especially key for brands to grasp is how Gen Alpha discover products. While platforms like YouTube are their playground today, it may not last forever. This generation have developed technology fluency early on in their childhoods, and amid the rise of AI and conversational commerce, the way they search and find products is on the cusp of transformation. Are you ready for it?
TikTok is Gen Z’s Google. What will be Gen Alpha’s?
Today, search engines and social media are key for brands looking to reach younger audiences. A successful brand-influencer relationship and great SEO marketing can be sufficient to drive discovery and sales.
But as Gen Alpha come of age, we’ll see the rise of technologies like AI and conversational search impacting their methods of discovery, while current digital marketing techniques fall by the wayside.
Take conversational search: our forecasts show that by 2032, at least 35% of consumers in all markets will have used voice commands, with the US, China and Brazil leading the way in speediest uptake. Rather than typing in a static search for the products and services they’re after, many Gen Alpha will chat to their AI agents and smart home assistants like they would to a friend. Given this, brands will need to rethink how they optimize for discovery, swapping out old techniques like keyword-stuffing for strategies that foreground natural language.
Recent product launches signal how this will pan out. In February, Amazon introduced Alexa+ – a new iteration of its assistant that is powered by generative AI. Alexa+ can book reservations, help consumers search and buy items online, and make suggestions based on the user’s personal interests. According to Amazon, the device will be able to understand everything from “half-formed thoughts” to “colloquial expressions”: “It feels less like interacting with technology, and more like engaging with an insightful friend.” By the time Gen Alpha are old enough to be making household purchase decisions, AI agents like these will be the norm.
Put into action: Prepare for a world where text-based search no longer dominates. Explore how conversational content, shoppable videos and augmented reality tech can make your products more appealing and discoverable for the next generation of consumers.
Social media is under fire for harming children. How will that affect how Gen Alpha search?
From Instagram to TikTok, Gen Alpha is spoiled for choice when it comes to finding products on social media, but YouTube reigns supreme: 51% first hear about brands through its videos. However, as parents’ concerns around online safety grow, and as governments look to enforce more regulations to protect kids, what will this mean for the future of Gen Alpha’s product discovery?
Foresight Factory data shows that 54% of parents of children under 12 have reported a post they’ve seen online as inappropriate, compared with the 45% global average. Finding ways to protect children from algorithmic harm will continue to grow in importance, and the “tech lash” will undoubtedly have an impact on Gen Alpha’s ability to shop on social media.
Meanwhile, traditional influencers may not resonate as strongly with Gen Alpha as they have done with Gen Z and Millennials. Just 14% of Gen Alpha say that a celebrity endorsement has influenced their choice of favorite brand. In this context, product discovery via social media and influencer marketing may become less straightforward.
Put into action: Create engaging, parent-approved content hubs outside of mainstream social platforms that facilitate product exploration in a safe, closed environment.
Kids already have significant amounts of financial sway. Is your brand listening?
Gen Alpha may be children, but their influence is undeniable. 95% of Gen Alpha’s parents say they learn about new products or brands from their children, and 92% say their kids are great at finding “interesting and new products”. It’s no wonder they are sometimes labelled the Gateway Generation, given the influence they exert on their parents’ shopping choices.
And, even with the small amounts of money they earn by doing chores and getting good grades, Gen Alpha have the power to cause the products they love to go viral. Take, for example, the rise of mini beauty products like travel-sized Rare Beauty blushes and miniature perfumes. Experts have credited Gen Alpha for driving this trend, noting that they appreciate the price accessibility of “beauty minis” as well as their cute aesthetic and collectability.
Put into action: Treat Gen Alpha not just as future consumers, but as key shopping influencers in their own right. Tap into their affiliation for aesthetic appeal and affordability to capture their attention.
The oldest Gen Alphas may only be tweens, but their digital savviness and consumer know-how is set to outpace other generations. For brands, this means that the penalty of not adapting to meet Gen Alpha where they are is likely to be high. Don’t get left behind.
In today’s volatile world, staying on top of weak signals and emerging consumer behaviors is crucial for any brand looking to mitigate risk and identify future opportunities. Our dynamic signal models do just that, helping brands like yours monitor quiet indicators of change that could have a dramatic impact on your future strategy.
Talk to us about incorporating a signal model into your strategic foresight framework today.
