LONDON, UK— 17 October 2024 A global study released today, How consumer behaviour shapes the digital economy, by Checkout.com, a leading global digital payments company, highlights the consumer buying behaviour which is powering today’s digital economy. The research, conducted across the UK, US, UAE and China, reveals a number of trends, including the growing spending power of Generation Alpha.
Children aged 8-15 years old (Generation Alpha) are driving over a quarter (27%) of their household’s non-essential monthly spend, rising to nearly a third of monthly spend for digital purchases, as 29% of Millennial parents take responsibility for purchasing digital products each month for their children. This comes as digital products and services make up over a fifth (21%) of the average global household spend.
Generation Alpha’s purchase influence is greatest in online educational resources, which nearly half (47%) of parents purchase for their children, followed by entertainment streaming, purchased by a third (30%) of parents globally.
The study also highlighted several regional trends in parents buying digital goods and services for their children. Over a quarter (28%) of Millennials globally pay for monthly e-gaming services for their children, rising to half (47%) of parents in the UAE. Parental spend on e-gaming is lowest in the US but this is offset by a third (33%) of children in the US making e-gaming purchases independently each month.
Chinese children benefit most from educational purchases, with 59% of Millennial parents in China buying monthly digital educational resources for children under 12, and over 22% purchasing news media subscriptions for them. Meanwhile parents in the UK spend significantly on online education for their children (39%) and are the most likely to continue to purchase monthly online education for their teenagers.
Apart from being the beneficiaries of their parents’ spending, children are also spending independently in the digital economy:
Social commerce is already a major shopping channel in China, with nearly half (46%) of all adult Chinese consumers purchasing via social channels. In the UK (24%), USA (17%) and UAE (23%) this is currently a less common channel amongst adults, however children around the world use social media as the go-to source for finding out about deals on products, with very little regional variation (UK: 48%, US: 57%, China: 56%, UAE: 41%). Further, social commerce is the most common shopping channel, globally, for Gen Zs in all countries, with only just over one-third (35%) of Gen Zs regularly shopping in physical stores.
“It’s clear that Generation Alpha is playing a major role in the digital economy”, said Rory O’Neill, Chief Marketing Officer at Checkout.com. “The younger generation is going beyond using social channels for discovery, but actually purchasing through these platforms. We're seeing this unfold in China, which should always be considered the blueprint for future commerce.
“What's more, businesses need to pay close attention to customer preferences for payment – across all generations – in order to drive growth and loyalty in this fast-changing and competitive market.”
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