StudioXAG’s Strategy Lead, Daniel Wigham, unpacks how Gen Alpha, digitally native, socially driven, and unafraid to challenge the status quo, will redefine the future of brand experiences, revealing the key insights that will ensure your brand is built for the future.

Who is Gen Alpha?

The largest and most diverse generation in history, Gen Alpha, born between 2010 and 2024, numbers around 2.5 billion people.

Their worldview is shaped by climate change, health crises, political instability, and rapid technological evolution.

By 2029, their economic footprint is set to reach $5.46 trillion, making them a force that brands can’t afford to ignore.

Gen Alpha’s Values, Priorities & Personality

Confident, digitally fluent, and socially conscious, Gen Alpha aligns with Gen Z’s sustainability concerns while exhibiting millennial-like nostalgia and brand loyalty.

75% of 8–10-year-olds see mental health as a priority, recognising the benefits of disconnecting from technology.

30% aspire to careers that help people or the planet.

Their purchasing decisions are driven by price, ESG factors, values, nostalgia, storytelling, and convenience.

They are brand-aware from a young age, influenced by their millennial parents and digital ecosystems.

Mythbusting: Challenging Assumptions About Gen Alpha

Myth: In-store shopping does not appeal to Gen Alpha.
Reality: In 2025, 28% of Alpha spending is forecasted to be via physical retail, emphasising the need for engaging retail experiences.

Myth: Gen Alpha is too young to develop brand preferences.
Reality: Gen Alpha is highly brand-aware, influenced by their Millennial parents. ‘Mini brands’ and curated skincare products have gained traction. Their brand choices are considered and values-driven.

Myth: Gen Alpha is universally tech-obsessed.
Reality: While immersed in technology, 74% manage their well-being by spending time outdoors or reducing screen time. They also prefer quality over quantity in their digital experiences.

The Shifts We Predict

From Digital Interfaces ➞ To Digital Playgrounds

Gen Alpha doesn’t just use technology; they rewrite its rules, shaping it to fit their world.

If you’re building a brand experience for this generation, you’re not just putting screens in your store or adding some AR filters. Gen Alpha expects full-blown alternate realities where they are the architects. Brands will need to blend AI, VR, and the physical world seamlessly.

–

TeamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi exemplifies the shift by transforming traditional interaction into an immersive, ever-evolving experience. Instead of static displays or passive digital engagement, the space functions as a dynamic ecosystem where art responds to environmental factors like light, air, and water. 

Visitors don’t just observe; they step into an interactive realm where their presence and movements influence the evolving visuals and soundscapes. This approach blurs the line between spectator and participant, reimagining digital spaces as playgrounds for exploration, curiosity, and co-creation, where each visit offers a new and unpredictable experience.

From Sustainable Buzzwords ➞ To Systematic Change

Gen Alpha won’t ask brands to recycle or cut back on packaging, they’ll hold them accountable for environmental destruction, human rights violations, and corporate exploitation.

If your sustainability efforts aren’t radical, redefining your entire supply chain, supporting social justice movements, or transforming production practices, they’ll see through it in an instant. Gen Alpha isn’t here for ‘greenwashing’; they’re demanding brands be true agents of change.

–

Circulation’s Tokyo store transforms a garage into a transparent workshop where repaired shoes are both restored and resold. The decision to spotlight the repair process, rather than rely on messaging, underscores a shift from performative sustainability to tangible action.

From Hyper-Personalisation ➞ To Radical Customisation

It won’t be enough to offer personalised recommendations or allow customers to ‘customise’ a few product features. Gen Alpha wants full control, a level of co-creation so deep that they feel the product is an extension of their identity.

Don’t just offer tailored experiences; give them the keys to the kingdom. Let them shape every element of their interaction with your brand, from your store layout to the products themselves. Think ‘customisable’ is enough? They’ll expect total reinvention every time they step foot in your space.

–

Bang & Olufsen’s new ‘Atelier’ service takes personalisation to the next level, offering a radical approach to customisation that goes far beyond standard colour options. With a system that allows for over half a million possible combinations, customers can tailor everything from aluminium finishes to wood species and fabric coverings, ensuring their speakers and televisions are as much a reflection of personal style as they are of sound quality.

This shift from curated choices to limitless self-expression aligns with a growing demand for hyper-individualised luxury, where products are no longer just owned but uniquely crafted to fit the user’s identity.

From Multi-Sensory Experiences ➞ To Total Emotional Immersion

Forget the typical notion of ‘multisensory’ – scent, touch, and sound aren’t enough for Gen Alpha. They want to feel your brand as if it’s an extension of their world. It’s no longer about being “immersive” in a generic sense; but becoming a physical extension of their lived experience.

If your store doesn’t alter their emotional state, make them feel something, change their energy, even challenge their perceptions, then you’ve missed the mark. Gen Alpha’s experiences should leave them questioning reality, not just appreciating the atmosphere.

–

ENESS’s Forest Dancer experience exemplifies this shift. Beyond its striking interlocking arches, pixelated motifs, and oversized 8-bit floral prints, Forest Dancer invites deeper engagement through movement, light, and sound that has been specially engineered to impact emotions.

As visitors navigate the space, shifting patterns and evolving soundscapes create a sense of fluidity and transformation, subtly altering their state in real time. Whether evoking awe, curiosity, or quiet reflection, the exhibition disrupts the perception of how an exhibition can make you feel.

From Collaboration ➞ To Ownership

Gen Alpha won’t just want to collaborate, they’ll want ownership. They’ve grown up in a world where platforms like TikTok let anyone create and monetise content. The idea of passively interacting with a brand is alien to them.

They’ll demand to participate in everything, from product development to store concepts. Brands that don’t open their creative processes to them, simply won’t be on their radar. It’s not just about feedback anymore, but making them the creators, because they expect to be the ones who decide what’s ‘cool’ next.

–

Diesel’s Fall/Winter 2025 runway show transformed its set into what is said to be the largest graffiti installation ever created, with over three kilometres of hand-painted fabric wrapping the space, bearing the raw, expressive marks of more than 7,000 graffiti artists worldwide. Creative director Glenn Martens sent six miles of blank white fabric to street artists across China, South Africa, the U.S., and beyond, welcoming contributions from both seasoned professionals and amateurs. 

When the fabric returned, covered in spray-painted signatures, murals, and abstract gestures, it became a sprawling, co-created manifesto. As Martens put it, ‘the true democracy of Diesel’ was on full display.

From Shoppable Stores ➞ To Hybrid Social Spaces

Gen Alpha doesn’t need a store in the traditional sense. They need spaces that exist beyond the transaction. Stores will become social experiments, spaces to forge connections, spark new conversations, and blend play, work, learning, and entertainment into a single flow.

Don’t create places to shop; build a community, a culture, a moment in time that belongs exclusively to them. If your store isn’t a destination for them to create, play, and interact with others, you’re invisible.

–

Madhappy’s LA flagship exemplifies the shift from shoppable stores to hybrid social spaces, blending retail with arts, events, and hospitality. The space encourages community connection through features like a recessed conversation pit, an immersive multimedia room, and a café. By offering more than just products, Madhappy invites visitors to engage with the brand and each other, creating a space for interaction and creativity beyond the transaction.

Glossy Values ➞ Disruptive Action

Gen Alpha won’t buy into the soft, glossy brand values that have been recycled for years. They’re looking for brands that don’t just talk the talk, they disrupt the status quo. The word ‘authenticity’ is becoming an excuse for doing the bare minimum. Gen Alpha will demand action.

They’ll pay attention to how you handle politics, social justice, the environment, and even your role in the global economy. It’s no longer about aligning with broad ideals, but being radically transparent and willing to take a stand. If your brand doesn’t have an edge, don’t expect them to show up.

–

Miu Miu’s SS25 show challenged perceptions of truth and misinformation through an artistic intervention by Goshka Macuga. With a set resembling a printing press and a conveyor belt of newspapers in motion, the show’s execution confronted contemporary media culture, proving how brands can move beyond passive value signaling into bold, disruptive action.

AI Assistance ➞ AI Collaborator

When we talk about AI and robotics, we’re thinking too small. Gen Alpha doesn’t want ‘assistance’ from AI, they expect AI to be a collaborator that shapes their experience in real time.

Forget bots that answer questions. They want robots that understand them, adapt to their mood, anticipate their desires, and surprise them at every turn.

–

Lea Architecture designed a maker space in Saint Ann’s School, New York, where AI and digital tools aren’t supplementary; they’re integral to the creative process. This reflects a shift from AI as a passive tool to an engaged collaborator, shaping how the next generation learns and creates.

The key takeaways you need

• Rather than adapting to technology, Gen Alpha is shaping it into their own version of reality.
• Sustainability isn’t a bonus, it’s a demand for complete systemic overhaul.
• Hyper-personalisation? Think bigger. Alpha wants radical, deep-level co-creation.
• Brand experiences must go beyond immersion, they need to move emotions and perceptions.
• The power dynamic has shifted, from passive participants to owners of the narrative.
• Glossy brand values have been replaced with a call for disruptive action.
• AI is more than a tool, it’s a collaborator that shapes their experience.

Gen Alpha expects brands to invite them into the creative process, embrace disruptive action, and build experiences that challenge perceptions and impact emotions.

The question is: How will you evolve to meet their expectations?

Our team is here to help. To stay ahead, drop us a line here.