06-08-2025
Exclusive: America's youngest consumers drive almost half of household spending
Generation Alpha influences just under half of their households' spending according to a report shared exclusively with Axios from public relations firm DKC.
Why it matters: The young cohort's $101 billion in direct spending power gives restaurants and retailers a glimmer of hope at a time when the kids' parents are fretting about the state of the economy.
"They have more spending money directly than you might think they would have, and their economic influence is enormous," DKC President Matthew Traub told Axios.
"That's why we call it the gateway generation, because they're this gateway into household spending decisions and what brands are patronized in a way that I think earlier generations haven't ever wielded,"
By the numbers: 42% of all household spending is influenced by 8- to 14-year-olds, American parents said in the survey.
The age group is directly spending $101 billion per year, in addition to the influence they have over their parents' wallets.
The average Gen Alpha child has $67 of their own money to spend in a typical week, amounting to $3,484 per year. This is an almost 50% increase in direct spending over 2024.
The intrigue: "It's not just thinking about what an 8- to 14-year-old is going to purchase or ask their parents to purchase for them, but also how they're influencing the entire household's spending," Traub said.
State of play: Gen Alpha kids have the most sway over their households' food and entertainment spending, according to the report.
52% of parents said they traveled to new or different vacation destinations after being prompted by their children. 61% said they're making more online purchases.
More than half of parents surveyed also said their Gen Alpha kids are pushing them to give charitable donations.
What we're watching: 91% of Gen Alpha children are earning their own money either through payment for chores, good grades and behavior, doing odd jobs outside of the house, or online selling and reselling.
"They're already positioning themselves to earn more money and be savvier about how they spend it than any generation before that," Traub said.
