Gen Alpha children (born 2010 to 2025) are all about online.
Here's an example. They are leading the way in online shopping.
Online shoppers are getting younger and younger as this new generation emerges onto the scene.
Censuswide, a research company, recently surveyed over 1,000 parents about this. 22% of parents surveyed said their kids prefer online shopping to other entertainment activities including watching TV.
Gen Alpha kids are spending an average of 2.48 hours a week shopping online. This is more than tweens (2.16 hours a week) and teens (2.27 hours per week).
Gen Alpha has early access to cellphones and technology. This contributes to them being more digitally immersed and able to jump on board more quickly.
Social media is a strong driver of Gen Alpha’s interest in certain products, with around 45% of parents reporting that their kids are easily swayed by online influencers.
Data shows that shopping can also be a social status mechanism for Gen Alpha. Often they may be driven by their peers to join them on certain platforms where shopping is also taking place.
33% of parents say their kids consider online shopping a fun activity to do with friends—perhaps a natural digital evolution of the mall as the go-to hangout for previous generations.
Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials hung out at a physical mall as teenagers. Gen Alpha kids hang out at a virtual mall.
Experts say they saw this first with social media and are seeing that grow into gaming and other kid-friendly spaces previously reserved for playing or social interaction. In many ways, this generation has been taught to love e-commerce, and that might be why we see through the data that they’re treating it as a social and entertainment activity rather than a transactional one.
But some parents are concerned about these habits—around 16% of respondents reported that their kids are experiencing an addiction to online shopping, and 20% noted that an age-inappropriate item had been purchased online. But on the flip side, roughly 34% of parents say their kids’ familiarity with online shopping has helped them develop good money-management skills at a young age.
