Gen Alpha’s Holiday Influence: Trends, Tastes, and the Power of Digital Culture

Recently, Gen Alpha made social waves by feverishly embracing the cryptic phrase “6-7” (pronounced “six-seven”). This pseudocode spread like wildfire across social media and the suburbs of pop culture, and even legacy news.

The origins are murky, perhaps starting with Philadelphia rapper Skrilla’s 2024 song “Doot Doot (6 7),” which featured the numbers as a repeated lyric, and was quickly proliferated and remixed across TikTok, Instagram, and basketball fandoms (partly due to NBA star LaMelo Ball’s famous 6′7″ height and viral sports edits). 

Unlike past youth expressions like “Wassup!” or “Cowabonga,” we may never know the true origin of this phrase. Regardless, “6-7” is yet another absurd clarion call, social icebreaker, or membership cipher for the youth, commonly appearing today in memes, chat rooms, and classrooms (to the detriment of educators).

Including Gen Alpha, no one truly knows what the phrase really means, though many attempt and many enjoy its ambiguity or synchronistic numerology. Adding to all its ludicrousness, “6-7” was declared a “word of the year” by Dictionary.com, even if it’s not a word and has no working definition. Welcome to 2025 in America.

Does this mean that Gen Alpha is composed of absurdist mystics, idiot savants, and budding secret member societies? Marketers are doomed without some sort of heaven-sent Rosetta Stone or alien intervention?

No at all. 

Despite the young typically being rebelliously mysterious and dismissive, Gen Alpha has distinct buying attitudes and brand preferences that can be decoded like Neo in The Matrix, who sees reality as a set of specific, useful numbers. This understanding is crucial, through and beyond the holidays, because of this group’s rising consumer power. The demographic wields more than $28 billion in direct spending power. They also influence over $100 billion in annual family purchases, despite mainly being under 15. 

The Consumer Psychology and Preferences of Gen Alpha

Gen Alpha typically covers those born from about 2010 to 2024. They are the first demographic entirely born in the 21st century. They are characterized by having mainly Millennial parents and by their chronic immersion in digital technology. Gen Alpha is predicted to become the largest and most globally connected generation in history.

We can break down their psyche and behavior with these points:

• Gen Alpha are true digital natives, growing up surrounded by smartphones, artificial intelligence, and endless internet connectivity from their earliest years. Technology is deeply ingrained in their daily existences, unlike any generation before them. 43% own a tablet before age 6, while a startling 58% have a smartphone by age 10. 

• Diversity and inclusivity are core to their identity, as they are raised in highly multicultural environments. They champion fairness, environmental sustainability, and global awareness.

• Their learning styles emphasize interactive, gamified, and personalized experiences, paired with a strong ability to adapt quickly to novel digital platforms and peer-to-peer learning across virtual spaces.

• Unlike previous generations, Gen Alpha often ingests media passively and selectively, posting less publicly online while seeking relatable, visually driven content. Performative and extroverted social media use is avoided, as they prioritize privacy and intimacy. Thus, this demographic, unlike the “old fogies,” has better things to do than post angry reviews in comment sections or debate on social platforms.

Gen Alpha consumes media primarily through short-form, visually rich platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. They prefer lightning, algorithm-driven content that suits their goldfish attention spans and device-first habits. They also tend to engage with more secluded or niche online communities, relishing genuine, relatable content and direct interaction with creators and influencers. 

Not surprisingly, Gen Alpha loves digital-heavy media companies like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon. They gravitate to social media spaces like TikTok, YouTube, and Discord. More than any other generation, including Gen Z, influencers dictate what products they desire. Their leading influences for advertising are:

• YouTube (56%)

• TikTok (22%)

• Snapchat and Instagram (12% respectively) 

Here are some of Gen Alpha’s preferred brands:

• Food: McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Taco Bell (due to their bouncy marketing, convenience, and variety). McDonald’s leads overall (34%).

• Clothing: Zara, Nike, Brandy Melville, Lululemon, H&M, and Hollister (the reason being their trendy aesthetics and “plain ole” comfort).

• Electronics: Gaming consoles (especially Nintendo Switch), interactive learning tablets (iPads and Amazon Fire Kids tablets), and smartphones. More than any other demographic, they have a favorable view of mixed reality/VR headsets (such as Apple Vision Pro and Samsung Galaxy XR).

• Food and Beverage: It all mostly comes down to taste, according to 65% of respondents. Fun packaging and convenience come in distant seconds (25% respectively).

As for Artificial Intelligence, nearly half of Gen Alpha ages 7 to 14 are already leveraging AI tools (33% for fun, 23% to learn new things, and 20% for homework). Far from the doomsayers of older generations, this youngest age group’s attitude toward AI is marked by a bubbling mix of enthusiasm, early adoption, and growing digital literacy. And 59% claim that AI will be crucial for future jobs, so sorry to those who worry about the inevitability of Skynet from The Terminator or Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Gen Alpha isn’t all about modernity, mind you; it enjoys classic entertainment staples like Disney and Lego for their timeless storytelling, creativity, and nostalgia. Breaking away from Gen Z and Millennials, a majority of Gen Alpha (66%) prefer shopping in-store, citing the enjoyment of spending time with family outside the home as the main reason.

What Does It Mean for the Holidays?

How can marketers satisfy Gen Alpha during the festive season—beyond taking them to the mall, investing in influencers, and stamping “6-7” on every product? 

It can’t be stressed enough that digital culture, peer movements, and social influence strongly shape Gen Alpha’s view of the holidays. 69% of Gen Alpha in the U.S. request gifts they first encountered through online ads or creator-driven content, with a staggering 50% doing so before age 6. Furthermore, this generation doesn’t focus solely on traditional family rituals; instead, it gravitates toward unique experiences and self-expression.

It favors interactive entertainment, gaming, and (surprisingly, like going to the mall) travel—with 93% shaping family travel plans and 89% expecting to travel at least once a year as a holiday reward or for personal growth. What’s more, family or group-oriented activities receive a stronger preference than purely individual gifts. Their weekly spending averages $67, most often on snacks, toys, entertainment, and clothing, highlighting the need for targeted, timely offers and family-focused promotions.

It’s never easy to break through the din of any holiday season, so 2026 will be the same as 2025 for Gen Alpha. Brands would be wise to embrace authenticity, inclusivity, and experiential marketing across both digital and in-store channels. Video content should be king when connecting with Gen Alpha. Marketing campaigns that blend shoppable videos, interactive occurrences (such as gaming worlds or pop-up events), and storytelling will result in far higher engagement (data indicates these personalized strategies deliver up to a 36:1 ROI in holiday tests).

Lastly, it’s imperative to craft holiday campaigns that highlight real-world causes, feature dynamic interactive content, and foster real-life family participation to drive both confidence and conversions for this increasingly influential age bracket.

Gen Alpha is leading a shift toward a holiday mindset in which inspiration comes from what’s trending online and meaningful celebrations are increasingly designed by young participants themselves. Anything else risks having these young ones calling out marketers with a favorite term they use to describe when there is too much low-quality, frenetic content: brain rot.

Don’t give them brain rot or ugly sweaters with “6-7.”