Xin Ou
Research expert covering Greater China
Gen Alpha online shopping behavior - statistics & facts
With the much-studied Generation Z fully entering adulthood in 2025, the next cohort of young consumers is starting to develop behavioral patterns that could very well determine the future of e-commerce. Gen Alpha, or Generation Alpha, is the generation born between 2010 and 2025. As such, this generation includes everyone from infants to young adolescents. Whereas Gen Z’s online shopping behavior is already well-known to the FMCG, retail, and e-commerce industries, their young successors are still a largely unexplored cohort. However, the first research findings suggest that Gen Alpha is approaching e-commerce in innovative ways.
Gen Alpha, the first fully digitally native consumer generation, is already showing signs of its future e-commerce consumer persona. Their preference for social shopping, as well as their increased presence in the Metaverse, may be the first tells of a shift in channel usage in global e-commerce.
Children of Millennials
Millennial parents grew up in conjunction with the rise of technology, digitalization, and online shopping. This makes them uniquely qualified to judge the benefits and risks of e-commerce behavior, which has consequences for their Gen Alpha kids. In the United States, 78 percent of parents have stated that they rarely or never allowed their Gen Alpha children to shop online independently. Only seven percent of parents gave their children full, unsupervised access to e-commerce in 2024. Nonetheless, Amazon shopping was the third-most popular app for U.S. teens in 2023, with over half of respondents to a widespread survey having used the app.Gen Alpha goes social
E-commerce is currently transitioning from the online marketplace model that is so popular with Millennials, moving into the social sphere. Social commerce is booming globally, chipping away at traditional online retailers’ market share year after year. Younger consumers are especially partial to shopping on social media, and with Gen Alpha, this trend will likely only intensify. A 2024 U.S. survey revealed that well-known social platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube are already widely used by young teens. In fact, parents reported that Gen Alpha shows signs of addiction to these platforms, with a staggering 89 percent of Gen Alpha TikTok users scrolling through short-form content on a daily basis. Video apps are especially popular, with good old YouTube being the app that was used most often by Gen Alpha.A shot at redemption for the Metaverse?
Although social commerce may already seem like an innovative way of engaging in e-commerce for Gen Alpha, they are taking their online shopping behavior one step further: into the Metaverse. While the digital equivalent to our universe has not quite made the promised impact among adult consumers, the Metaverse is currently enjoying a revival among kids. Fortnite and Roblox are two video games that are part of the Metaverse, and where e-commerce and microtransactions are at the core of the business model. Even though Roblox is older than all members of Gen Alpha, this generation does comprise the core player base of the video game.Gen Alpha, the first fully digitally native consumer generation, is already showing signs of its future e-commerce consumer persona. Their preference for social shopping, as well as their increased presence in the Metaverse, may be the first tells of a shift in channel usage in global e-commerce.
