Editor’s note: The following is a guest article by Ali Furman, U.S. consumer markets industry leader at PwC.
Customer experience strategies typically assume that a single customer makes a purchasing decision. However, multiple participants increasingly shape today’s purchasing decisions, and one of the most influential voices is also one of the youngest: Generation Alpha.
Recent PwC research shows they’re the youngest “chief influence officers,” shaping what gets bought and how decisions get made. Kids have always had opinions, but what’s happening now is fundamentally different.
Generation Alpha was born with the buy button at their fingertips.
According to PwC research, 1 in 4 kids independently order items using shopping apps, websites or food delivery platforms. Further, 97% of them make purchasing decisions independently at least some of the time, and more than half add items to shared online carts for parental review.
It’s shifted a typical household purchase. Today, that experience might start with a child discovering a product through digital content, researching it and advocating for it. A parent might then step in to review or approve the purchase.
In some cases, kids add a product to the shared family cart before a parent even sees it, and the transaction may happen before that final approval step, using a shared account or saved payment method. The decision might be shared, but the experience often isn’t.
Kids today not only seek autonomy; they have the ability to execute it.
Most companies still design CX strategies for a single user moving through a linear path, but that model doesn’t reflect how consumers now make decisions.
Discovery is happening earlier and elsewhere
For Generation Alpha, digital environments shape discovery and preferences. Entertainment and commerce converge, and products show up tied to creators and trends.
Three in five kids in PwC’s survey say social media influences what they want — more than television, in-store browsing or influence from peers. By the time they add a product to an online shopping cart, the decision has already been made.
Traditionally, a straightforward funnel flows from awareness to consideration to purchase. In reality, discovery now happens continuously across different platforms, modes and moments, and children and parents shape decisions together through conversations.
For CX leaders, that creates a more complex picture. You’re no longer designing for a single person moving in a straight line. You’re designing for a set of interactions that unfold across people, channels and time.
Why this matters now
It’s tempting to think of Generation Alpha as a future segment, but that’s not what the data shows. They’re already influencing billions in household spending, forming brand preferences and setting expectations.
They expect commerce to move at the speed of their scroll. They’re quick to disengage when something feels slow or frustrating, citing boredom, excessive ads and lagging load times for abandoning digital experiences. Those expectations will shape broader consumer norms over time.
Rather than building separate experiences for children and parents, companies need to recognize that both are part of the customer journey and design with that in mind.
First, brands can create systems that support collaborative decision-making. Shared carts, product comparisons and accessible information help bridge the roles each person plays.
Second, companies can show up where influence begins. If discovery is happening in digital environments outside your owned channels, those moments influence the experience, whether you design for them or not.
Third, brands can build trust across all household audiences. Children are drawn to experiences that are easy and engaging, while parents are looking for transparency and confidence in what they’re approving. Both matter, and both need to be addressed.
The definition of the customer is changing. It’s less about a single individual moving through a defined journey and more about a shared process shaped by multiple participants under one roof.
Generation Alpha is a clear signal of where things are headed. Companies that design experiences for these shared decisions will be better positioned to stay relevant. Those who don’t risk catering to a customer profile that might no longer exist.
Correction: A previous version of this article included the byline of another writer. Ali Furman is the sole author.
