HarrisX + ALLISON WORLDWIDE

The Gen Alpha Household Influence Study

Gen Alpha is reshaping how brands win and lose inside American households. The Gen Alpha Household Influence Study measures how Gen Alpha teens and their parents shape each other's brand preferences and direct billions in household spending decisions.

A first-of-its-kind study of Gen Alpha teens and their parents

Explore Brand RankingsLearn About the ScoreDiscover the Platform

Brands that succeed with Gen Alpha will not simply market to teens.

They will understand how Gen Alpha households make purchasing decisions together.

Girls

  • Brand Curators for the household
  • Self-expression and identity brands
  • Drive 2 in 3 purchases parents make for them

Boys

  • Sportswear & performance brands
  • Creator-led: comedy, gaming, and challenges
  • More deferential to parents on brands

Moms

  • Household gatekeepers
  • Value, quality, and trust over trends
  • Following their teens to TikTok

Dads

  • Familiarity and utility over trends
  • Discover brands through their teens
  • Following their teens to YouTube

Born 2010-2025

67M

Gen Alpha in the U.S.

Peak Household Influence

16M

Gen Alpha Teens (Aged 13-16)

RACIAL ANd ETHNIC DIVERSITY

Most Diverse

Generation in American History

Mom

The Gen Alpha Influencer

73%

of Gen Alpha teens say their mom shapes what brands they like — more than influencers, celebrities, or social platforms, and second only to friends.

Gen Alpha

The New
Household CMO

73%

of parents say their Gen Alpha teen shapes the brands they like themselves.

Findings at a Glance

Mom

The Gen Alpha Influencer

73%

of Gen Alpha teens say their mom shapes what brands they like — more than influencers, celebrities, or social platforms, and second only to friends.

Gen Alpha

The New Household CMO

91%

of parents say their Gen Alpha teen shapes the brands they like themselves.

Gen Alphas, Particularly Teen Girls, Are Driving Parent Purchases

Girls

67%

of purchases parents of Gen Alpha Girls make are driven by their teen asking for a specific brand

Teen girls drive 2 in 3 purchases parents make for them.

Boys

59%

of purchases parents of Gen Alpha Boys make are driven by their teen asking for a specific brand

Parents retain significantly more control, initiating 41% of purchases.

Most Important Social Platform Shaping Brand Affinity

Brand Discovery Among Gen Alpha Teens

Social Media
Creators

48%

Say they discover new brands they like through social media creators

Celebrities or
Athletes

24%

Say they discover new brands they like through celebrities and athletes

Mom

The Gen Alpha Influencer

73%

of Gen Alpha teens say their mom shapes what brands they like — more than influencers, celebrities, or social platforms, and second only to friends.

Gen Alpha

The New Household CMO

91%

of parents say their Gen Alpha teen shapes the brands they like themselves.

Gen Alpha Teens

Drive household purchases

62%

of purchases parents make for their Gen Alpha teens are driven by the teen proactively asking for the brand

Most Important Social Platform Shaping Brand Affinity

Brand Discovery Among Gen Alpha Teens

Social Media
Creators

48%

Say they discover new brands they like through social media creators

Celebrities or
Athletes

24%

Say they discover new brands they like through celebrities and athletes

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Gen Alpha Household Brand Rankings

25 Brands Evaluated Across Gen Alpha Household Audiences

Household
Teens
Parents
Girls
Boys
Moms
Dads

Brand Strength Varies Across Gen Alpha Household Audiences

Chick-fil-A

One of Gen Alpha's favorite brands that moms have yet to fully embrace

AUDIENCE
RANK
Boys
#3

78.2

Girls
#2

77.5

Dads
#6

77.0

Moms
#8

67.8

Samsung

Big with dads, but struggles with Gen Alpha girls

AUDIENCE
RANK
Dads
#8

71.6

Moms
#10

62.5

Boys
#13

38.8

Girls
#25

23.8

Adidas

A parent nostalgia brand that has yet to fully connect with teen girls

AUDIENCE
RANK
Dads
#4

79.2

Moms
#6

72.1

Boys
#8

63.8

Girls
#16

53.7

One Score Measuring Two Things Simultaneously

TODAY

Winning the Household Purchase Decision

Gen Alpha teens discover brands, claim brands, and influence what brands enter the household, but parents still control most purchasing decisions. The Gen Alpha Household Brand Score measures which brands are winning that decision today.

TOMORROW

Building the Next Generation of Loyalty

As Gen Alpha gains purchasing power, today's preferred brands become tomorrow's habits, loyalties, and spending decisions. The Gen Alpha Household Brand Score measures that future value as well.

The strongest Gen Alpha brands are not necessarily the brands selling the most products today. They are the brands earning a place in a generation's identity before that generation fully controls its own spending.

Built for How Gen Alpha Households Actually Work

How the Gen Alpha Household Brand Score is Built

A single score measuring brand strength across four pillars

Brand Presence

Familiarity across the full household

Cultural Relevance

Affinity + generational identity across the household

Household Momentum

Teen asking behavior + parent approval

Commercial Strength

Purchase for and by Gen Alphas  + household loyalty

Measured across seven audiences simultaneously:

Household, Teens, Parents, Girls, Boys, Moms, Dads

Four Ways Brands Can Leverage the Platform

The Gen Alpha Household Intelligence Platform

The first brand performance system measuring how brands win and lose across the full Gen Alpha household.

01

Quarterly Brand Tracking

Syndicated brand performance tracking with cross-brand rankings, audience deep dives, and custom questions

IDEAL FOR

Ongoing visibility into Gen Alpha household trends

02

Category Deep Dive Study

Custom brand performance study tailored to a specific category, audience, and competitive set

IDEAL FOR

Deeper understanding of category dynamics and white space

03

Household Strategy Development

Bespoke communications and marketing program tailored for each of the Gen Alpha household audiences

IDEAL FOR

Gen Alpha household growth, positioning, communications and marketing strategies

04

Ongoing Advisory

Always-on strategic advisory support, rapid-response polling, trend monitoring, and campaign guidance

IDEAL FOR

Ongoing Gen Alpha strategy implementation support

Methodology

ABOUT THE STUDY

The HarrisX-Allison Worldwide Gen Alpha Household Influence Study was conducted in the United States from May 4 to May 12, 2026, among a total sample of 1,500 respondents, including 750 Gen Alpha teens ages 13–16 and 750 parents of Gen Alpha teens. Respondents were recruited through a broad variety of professional, validated respondent panels to expand the sampling frame and minimize the influence of any single panel’s recruiting methods.

Results were weighted for age, gender, region, race/ethnicity, income, and education where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 2.5 percentage points.

ABOUT HarrisX

HarrisX, a Stagwell company, is a strategic research and advisory firm that delivers clear, data-driven answers to complex and pressing questions faced by corporate, political and government clients. Powered by proprietary technology and a campaign-style approach, we move fast, cut through the noise, and surface insights that drive real-world impact. With offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia, we advise Fortune 100 companies, public institutions, global leaders, NGOs, and philanthropic organizations. Named one of top and most accurate pollsters of the 2020 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections, HarrisX doesn't just deliver data — we deliver confident decisions.

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ABOUT ALLISON WORLDWIDE

Allison Worldwide is an earned-first, data-led, and future-focused communications agency helping clients see around corners and be ahead of what's next. Not too big and not too small, Allison provides end-to-end global communications, PR, influencer, analytics and marketing support to clients from the Fortune 500 to start-ups. Allison is owned by Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), one of the fastest growing and most influential marketing and communications networks in the world.

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ABOUT STAGWELL

Stagwell is the challenger holding company built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our specialists in 35+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for our clients.

Learn More

Explore the Full Report

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The Gen Alpha Household Influence Study

The first-ever brand tracking system designed specifically for Gen Alpha households.

Website by HarrisX Studios.

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