Never mind Millennials; meet the Alphas

A recent survey report by Wunderman Thompson — 'Generation Alpha: Preparing for the future consumer' — looks at a new generation of future shoppers, currently aged between six and 16. The survey reached out to over 4,000 individuals in this age bracket, one half in the UK and the other half in the US, to learn more about their views on everything from influencers and Amazon, to deliveries and the shop floor.

The findings of the survey state that digital gadgets fall into the second half of the priority list of Alphas. While they do value their phone or their tablet, they understand family and friends to be more important. Only 15 per cent said money was important and a mere 2 per cent chose fame as an important factor in life.

The report mentions that Alphas want to buy from places that match their values and that behave responsibly towards the environment and society at large. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of kids like to buy from companies that are trying to do good in the world.

It goes on to state that when it comes to deciding what Alpha's want to buy, they regard influencers as more important than family. Influencers have relegated family members to third position when it comes to shaping the shopping preferences of children.

It also states that while video, TV and online is the most influential, social media is not to be overlooked. A majority of Alphas (57 per cent) say seeing adverts on social media makes them want to buy those products. And this is especially effective for Midi-Alphas, as 59 per cent of 10-12-year olds feel most strongly about this.

Click here to see the full report.