What Gen Alpha thinks about sustainability, beauty and auto buying

Experts have often said that Gen Alpha is not a mini version of Gen Z; now, new research is showing that marketers have their work cut out for them when it comes to winning over the younger cohort, whose eldest members turn 14 this year. A new report from Publicis Groupe-owned Razorfish is the agency’s third look at Gen Alpha. Among the findings, only 14% said they consider locally grown food and 12% consider organic when making food choices. Razorfish also found that though Gen Alpha “values body diversity and inclusivity in media,” 80% of the group said they use social media filters to alter their own images. Data-Driven Marketing Playbook Join us May 22 in NYC to explore how data powers marketing Learn more here Dani Mariano, president of Razorfish, noted that many marketers could make a mistake in thinking that Gen Z values will be the same priorities for Gen Alpha when it comes to issues such as brand purpose, for example. “We spend a lot of time talking about brand purpose to performance at Razorfish and how we take a brand’s purpose, which many times has environmental components, and how we turn [that] into business performance,” she said. “It’s getting more complex for marketers having these different generations that are not mini versions or carbon copies of each other.” To field the report, Razorfish surveyed 2,310 kids ranging in age from 9 to 13 in October and November 2024. Razorfish found that only 38% of Gen Alpha would pay a premium for an eco-friendly vehicle. While still too young to drive themselves, the report found that Gen Alpha is gaining influence as a family decision-maker on major purchases such as cars. Razorfish found that 61% of Gen Alpha consumers have the final say in what car a family buys. Gen Alpha’s opinion is something brands are watching closely. Automaker Ford has been regularly tracking Gen Alpha and has made product adjustments based on preferences. For example, the brand added charging stations for phone, tablet and video game controllers in its new Expedition family vehicles. “If kids are making those big decisions, we need to make sure as marketers that we think about that full experience,” said Mariano. Read more: Marketing to Gen Beta, Alpha, Gen Z, millennials, Gen X and boomers See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here Razorfish also found that 45% of Gen Alpha boys are interested in skincare; 25% of Gen Alpha boys have a skincare routine of three to five products. Overall, 75% of Gen Alpha shoppers are interested in beauty content online and 38% are already making their own beauty content such as “Get Ready With Me” videos. Mariano said marketers should be taking note of boys’ beauty engagement. For example, they could make their physical retail locations more comfortable for Gen Alpha boys. “Retailers can be thinking about how do you make that an enjoyable experience for everyone coming into the store,” she said.

What Gen Alpha thinks about sustainability, beauty and auto buying

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