The Tamesis
Sharleen Ernster lives in Los Angeles and is the mother of two daughters, ages 14 and 16. Ernst said that a few years ago, she had not heard of Brandy Melville. But today, her Generation Alpha daughters influence “about 50%” of her family’s discretionary spending, and she’s a huge fan.
“There are countless brands I would never have heard of without her recommendations on TikTok and YouTube,” she said. “The beauty is huge. [My 14-year-old] Knows more about beauty products than I do, we shop at CVS, Amazon, and Sephora. Anything she finds on TikTok and Snapchat affects our entire family. “
Ernst is not alone. Generation Alpha, born between 2013 and 2025, is now approximately 1 to 15 years old and has a significant impact on parents and families. According to market researcher GWI, the “vast majority” of children aged 8 to 11 have a say, and may even have the final say, in what they buy at home, from toys to food. According to public relations firm DKC, Gen Alpha already has $100 billion in direct spending power. As the oldest people reach working age, their spending power is expected to reach $5.5 trillion by 2029, a major avenue for growth for brands with access to them.
“Gen Alpha is a kind of mini-boss. Basically, they have this influence over families because they really advocate for what they want. And they’re used to the commercialization of everything,” said Alice Crossley, a Future Lab analyst who has co-authored several reports that have delved into Generation Alpha and their Gen Z parents.
Part of the reason Generation Alpha has more agency is because of their Millennial and Gen Z parents, “who are very focused on mental health and encourage their kids to advocate for themselves and talk about what they want,” she adds. one fashion business A colleague of mine recently told me that her weekend off was dedicated to her five-year-old son. As Millennials, we laugh at the contrast: As kids, we were dragged around department stores doing whatever our parents needed to deal with. This shift was highlighted by a 2025 Hilton report, which noted that approximately 70% of parents choose vacation destinations based on their children’s interests, a number that continues to rise as younger generations become more influential in families.
“We recently took a week-long trip to New York because [my daughter is] When she became an adult, she became obsessed with moving there. At her urging, we adopted a second cat. The list goes on,” said Jill Ettinger, a Los Angeles parent who has a 12-year-old daughter who she says affects “at least 40 to 50 percent” of her spending.
“Generation Alpha is able to influence family decisions in a more collaborative way than previous generations, which means successful strategies often involve shared experiences – whether gaming, beauty, food or entertainment – rather than siled youth marketing,” said Lucy Robertson, global head of brand marketing at creator agency Buttermilk. “In doing so, brands are increasingly closing traditional age gaps and becoming multi-generational rather than age-specific.”
Age-appropriate culture flattening
With the eldest Generation Alpha only in their teens, it’s still too early to map their consumer behavior, especially for luxury brands. However, Bain & Company has found that Generation Alpha (at least the older ones) “are exposed to high-end brands and luxury categories earlier than Gen Z” because they have a “hyperdigital DNA,” said Bain & Company senior partner Federica Levato.
Most of the parents I spoke to for this story said their children were aware of brands, but the most common ones were sportswear brands like Nike and Adidas.
“Generation Alpha is not like [older generations] That’s true, but they value standing out and being seen as an individual. A brand is a way for them to express themselves, and any way they can use a product to differentiate themselves from others is very relevant,” Levato added.
