Gen Alpha has been comfortably existing in a virtual world as much as in a physical world, and they expect seamless integration between the two worlds.

The level of comfort this generation has with all digital mediums makes them key decision-makers when it comes to purchases — because they are starting to actually know more than older generations.

Differences versus similarities between Gen Z and Gen Alpha

Despite some similarities, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are different in many ways. What's similar is that both generations want to see active change and be involved in making these changes happen. They are both activists and altruists, caring about the environment and humanitarian issues.

Gen Zs are more altruistic about the world's humanitarian issues, whereas Gen Alphas want to be altruists towards more community-based issues that are closer to home.

These two generations are also:
  • extreme experts on digital and social platforms
  • key influencers in buying decisions, and
  • the two most active markets on online platforms.
Activists and altruists at heart, 40% of children in the world say that caring for the planet is one of the most important things, with 34% stating that recycling is important. Far more children from this generation want to be altruists and humanitarians than millennials ever were.

This generation wants to be more involved in what's happening around them when it comes to their people, their community and environmental issues, but not much when it comes to larger worldly issues. They want to be superheroes and humanitarians to strive to make their world a better place.

Brands should set out to explore Gen Alpha by not just including them in marketing but also collaborating with them. 

Children are now influencing more purchase decisions
We know that children only used to influence buying decisions that concern toys, technology, or TV subscriptions. However, the children of today are influencing their parents' consumption habits that don't even concern children directly.

With families spending more time together during the Covid-19 pandemic, a child's say in household purchasing decisions has been greater than ever. Children are becoming influencers for their parents when it comes to:
  • investing money in e-commerce
  • what online shopping platforms to purchase from, and
  • which platforms to trust.
Children are spending so much time online without supervision. This is why app and software companies are trying to play big roles and putting practices into place to teach children how to be safe online while still having fun.

Playgrounds are also not a priority for children anymore, because online education is taking over and Covid-19 is shifting all after-school activities and extracurriculars to the digital realm. This means that children have taken their social lives online, meaning less in-person contact and going to the playground.

Interestingly enough, gaming has formed an integral part of children's lives and has become a huge social factor. Forty-six per cent of children aged eight to 11 stated that they talk to their friends while gaming and 56% of gamers aged 12 to 15 stated the same thing.

How marketers can best communicate with this generation
When marketing to children or Gen Alpha, don't underestimate their knowledge. It's not about just including them anymore; it's about collaborating with them and co-creating.

Children of today still lean on traditional social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, but are also embracing other, newer platforms, such as TikTok and Snapchat. This contributes to their higher knowledge about e-commerce purchases.

This has implications for brands that are seeking authentic conversations with their tween and teen followers, but still question the value of maintaining a presence on Facebook and Instagram.

Even though these platforms are still ahead with their follower numbers, brands are afraid that platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat are just a trend. Yet, current trends show that 13 to 15-year-olds are taking TikTok engagement to another level.

What brands could do and talk more about when targeting these future consumers
Brands should market on gaming platforms to drive engagement and spread awareness.

Brands also need to get icons and ambassadors that children look up to and create marketing content that creates trust and puts out good reviews on their platforms.

This is due to 34% of children today reading product reviews when deciding what products are best, which is what makes them key purchase decision-makers.

Brands should also practice and incorporate cyber safety on their social media and digital platforms as children are rarely supervised when using platforms and could be prone to more cyber-attacks online.

TikTok and Instagram are still incorporating parent monitoring features and tactics into their apps. TikTok is now allowing parents to:
  • set accounts to private
  • control who can see or comment on their children's videos, and
  • disable the TikTok's search feature altogether.
Instagram has introduced a safety feature where adults aren't able to contact teens on the platform if they don't already follow them. However, parents no longer have the time to monitor their children's online activities, which is why Gen Alpha have more freedom on social media and digital platforms.

Gen Alpha wants to be part of and collaborate with brands when it comes to addressing causes that they care about, such as:
  • bully prevention
  • cyberbullying, and
  • environmental causes.
Brands need to take cyber safety initiatives and cyberbullying issues to the next level by partnering with cybercrime organisations as CSR initiatives and addressing bullying as a pressing issue.

Gen Alpha differs so much from children back in the day. This is the generation that brands need to pay more attention to and partner with to gain the commitment they require from their consumers.

Brands also need to change the way they position themselves if they are going to target this generation — we can't keep using the same mediums and messages.

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