A generation-specific research institute, 20slab, presents a research report on the ‘Alpha generation’, a new generation.

94.2% of Alpha generation parents in elementary school are providing economic education to their children.

‘Nike’, ‘Adidas’, and ‘New Balance’ are the brands preferred by the Alpha generation… What do they all have in common?

The new consumer generation’s favorite shopping spots have the feature of ‘various options’.

20slab, a generation-specific research institute, has released the ‘Alpha Generation Exploration Report 2024’, which includes the family, education, economy, digital, and consumption lifestyles of the ‘Alpha generation’, a new generation.

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The Alpha generation, the generation after the Z generation, is emerging as a hot topic in various industries, but it is true that the Alpha generation is still in their childhood and adolescence, so it is too early for independent research. However, generational characteristics are not manifested independently but are often influenced by the parent generation or previous generations. 20slab found that the Alpha generation is interacting closely with Millennial and Generation X parents, and is significantly influenced by them. To comprehensively confirm the characteristics of the Alpha generation, the research also included their parents, and in-depth interviews were conducted directly with the Alpha generation.

94.2% of elementary school Alpha generation parents are providing economic education to their children.

According to the report, Alpha generation parents are active in providing economic education to their children. When asked about the education needed for their children in the future, ‘economic education’ was recorded at 61.5%. Of respondents with elementary school children, as many as 94.2% said they are providing economic education to their children, and 52.4% of parents with elementary school children said they give their children allowances regularly. Under the influence of parents who are actively engaged in economic education, the Alpha generation is naturally exposed to and learning about economic concepts from an early age. The report also found that the ‘digital-only’ Alpha generation is using fintech services such as Puffin, I-Cuckoo, and Hana Bank I-Buja. These services are gaining popularity because they can help children develop good consumption habits through easy expense management and offer gamified economic education services.

‘Nike’, ‘Adidas’, ‘New Balance’ are the brands preferred by the Alpha generation… What do they all have in common?

The Alpha generation has more opportunities to interact with their parents in their daily lives than any other generation, building a close emotional relationship between parent and child. When asked what is most needed to maintain the meaning of family for men and women aged 15 to 63 nationwide, Generation X to Generation Z ranked ‘emotional support and reliance’ as the top. Compared to the past, they are placing more emphasis on emotional bonds than blood ties. When examining the topics of conversation with their children among those who have elementary school children, ‘hobbies’ accounted for 52.6%, and ‘impressive content’ accounted for 40.4%. The report also provides a glimpse into the daily schedules and interviews of the Alpha generation, showing how parents and children share each other’s interests and preferences.

Moreover, parental influence is deeply ingrained in the formation of the Alpha generation’s consumption preferences and tastes. When parents of elementary school children were asked about the brands their children like, Nike, Adidas, Apple, Samsung, and other adult-targeted brands stood out in the top 20. It appears that parents’ tastes and brand choices are naturally passed down to their Alpha generation children in terms of consumption.

The new consumer generation’s favorite shopping spots have the feature of ‘various options’.

This report also discusses the shopping spots frequented by the Alpha generation based on 1:1 interviews. According to the report, the Alpha generation has segmented consumption spaces for shopping, leisure, and food, and shows a tendency to open their wallets according to their tastes. They are buying snacks and stationery from unmanned stationery stores (unmanned ice cream shops), Daiso, and Artbox, and their purpose for visiting and the items they purchase differ depending on the location.

Meanwhile, as places to spend leisure time with friends, various places such as photo booths like “In-Life-Four-Cut”, coin karaoke rooms, and claw machines came up, showing that they enjoy leisure spaces according to their individual interests. Popular foods consumed by the Alpha generation include mala hot pot, tang-hul-ru, and bubble tea, showing that foods with a variety of options according to taste are popular. The Alpha generation is accustomed to a consumption environment with more options and is proactively consuming based on their own preferences. More detailed stories about the Alpha generation’s consumption culture can be found in the report.

In addition, the ‘Alpha Generation Exploration Report 2024’ includes a detailed look at the overall lives of the Alpha generation, including the family and parenting environment centered on the Alpha generation, their education and career paths, and their digital life. For this report, 20slab conducted two quantitative surveys of Alpha generation parents and 1:1 interview surveys of elementary school students.

20slab is the first and only research institution specializing in the 20s in Korea. It is pursuing specialization by conducting expanded generation research centered on the 20s.

About 20slab

20slab is a research institution affiliated with 20s, an integrated marketing agency. It focuses on researching the MZ generation in order to best understand the 20s and conducts research on the Alpha generation, Generation X, and the 86 generation in parallel. It researches trends and generations based on trend case analysis, consumer survey results, and social big data, and provides insights needed by the market.

Alpha Generation Exploration Report 2024: https://www.20slab.org/Archives/38678
Alpha Generation Economic and Consumption Life: https://www.20slab.org/Archives/38690

Website: http://20slab.org

Contact
20slab
Sungwook Kim, Manager
+82-2-6985-1937