Gen Alpha worth over $28B in direct spending

You’ve heard of Gen X, Gen Z, and Millennials, but a new generation will soon reach early adulthood, and a new study by data analytics company Numerator estimates that the cohort is worth more than $28 billion in direct purchasing power. 

The “Alpha Amplified” report reveals that for the 12 months ending Jan. 31, Gen Alpha households, defined as those with a child under the age of 15, typically have more money, “but their dollars are stretched across more people which limits their child’s influence.”

Thirty-seven percent of Gen Alpha households earn $125,000 a year or more; 65% are married households; 34% are in four-person households; and 41% are more likely to be in the bottom 10th percentile of purchasing power. 

More than half (53%) of the approximately 46 million Gen Alpha kids receive an allowance worth an average $22 per week. 

Gen Alpha typically spends that money on toys (48%); snacks (42%); beverages (31%); electronics (29%); savings (28%); fast food (27%); apparel (23%); personal care (14%); and skin care/beauty products (13%). 

Categories that could be most impacted by Gen Alpha’s indirect spending in grocery include cookie and gingerbread kits, meal combo-kits, and yogurt covered snacks, the report noted.

In-store advertising is key to capturing the attention of Gen Alpha shoppers. Some 19% of parents said they usually or always allow their children to shop independently at brick-and-mortar locations, while 28% said they do so about half the time. The remaining 54% said they rarely or never let their Gen Alpha children shop independently in a store. 

That’s compared to 78% of parents who said they rarely or never allow their Gen Alpha-aged kids to shop independently online. Fifteen percent said they let their children shop independently online half the time, and 7% of parents said they usually or always allow their kids to shop independently online.