The Alpha
Shift

How Generation Alpha’s values will redefine the customer experience

This research is being released as a five-part series over the coming weeks. Each of the five themes builds on the last to reveal how Generation Alpha's emerging values will reshape consumer expectations, brand engagement, and market dynamics.

Why this?
Why now?

Generation Alpha is gaining influence faster than most companies are prepared for. While many brands remain focused on Gen Z, Gen Alpha is forming the expectations, behaviors, and values that will define the decade ahead.

For business leaders looking to drive relevance, growth, and long-term value, Gen Alpha isn’t a future audience—it’s already shaping the present. This generation moves fluidly between digital and physical worlds, questions inherited norms, and expects to co-create—not just consume—brands and experiences.

Meet Gen Alpha

They are no longer “just kids.” As of August 2025, with the oldest now turning 15, they are beginning to shape culture, economies, and expectations in ways that demand attention. By the end of 2025, this generation will number over 2.5 billion globally—making them the largest and most connected cohort in history.

Raised in a world defined by disruption—from the pandemic to global conflict to social fragmentation—Gen Alpha is growing up fast, with strong points of view shaped earlier than ever before. They’re true AI natives who navigate seamlessly between physical and digital realities, often blurring the line between the two.

Influenced by Millennial parents and Gen Z siblings, Gen Alpha are emotionally aware, culturally fluid, and socially attuned. They aren’t just different in values—they represent a new way of engaging with social connection, general level of identity, and culture.

Generation Alpha

Born between
2010 and 2024

Today's age:
0–15 years old

Gen Z siblings and
Millennial/Gen Z parents

Gen Alpha will become the largest generation in history, expected to reach 2.5 billion globally by 2025

Household
Influence

Already influencing $500B+ in global household spending
Strong sway over food, tech, entertainment, and household purchases through their Millennial parents

Tech-Native
From Birth

First fully AI-native and phygital generation
Grew up with voice assistants, AR filters, and real-time content creation tools
Seamlessly navigate between online and offline identities

Born Into a World Shaped By

COVID-19 pandemic

AI boom and digital-first learning

Climate anxiety and social justice movements

Geopolitical instability (e.g., wars, global inflation, political polarization)

Strategic Lens on Gen Alpha

This report cuts through the noise to offer a deeper lens on Gen Alpha’s emerging values, behaviors, and expectations. Backed by Ziba’s 40+ years of experience in uncovering what drives meaningful innovation, it’s designed to help you anticipate change—and act on it—before it becomes table stakes.

Unlike trend reports that skim the surface, this report is built using a designer’s lens—translating cultural signals and emerging behaviors into strategic insights for business leaders. It focuses on how Gen Alpha’s evolving mindset can guide more intentional product, service, and brand development.

Five Key Pillars Shape Our Approach:

Values-Driven

Looks beyond observable behavior to uncover the deeper values driving Gen Alpha’s choices.

Emotionally Insightful

Explores the emotional and psychological forces that shape how Gen Alpha relates to brands, people, and the world around them.

Generationally Comparative

Distinguishes what’s truly new by tracking mindset shifts across Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha.

Grounded in Reality

Spotlights real products and services already connecting with this generation—no hypotheticals, just traction.

Culturally Contextualized

Brings perspectives from the U.S., Mexico, Sweden, Japan, and South Africa, including insights from Gen Alpha themselves and their Millennial parents.

Methodologies

Our approach helps business leaders see what's next and where they can meaningfully contribute.

Research

Secondary literature review and in-depth one-on-one interviews with Gen Alpha (10–15 years old) and their parents from the United States, Mexico, Sweden, Japan, and South Africa

Framing

Trend/countertrend dynamics, era analysis, and a Venn model connecting cultural shifts, consumer behavior, and brand opportunity

Framing Gen Alpha Through Five Themes

This report offers a framework for understanding the rapidly emerging influence of Gen Alpha—and explores how their values and behaviors can inform the next wave of business and service development. It analyzes Gen Alpha through multiple dimensions such as identity formation, value shaping, information engagement, and how they navigate personal safety in a complex, hybrid world.