What were your childhood passions?

Perhaps it was making ice cream from scratch, writing websites in HTML (especially if you’re a Millennial), playing basketball or collecting cards. Whatever they were, they probably felt like far more than a way to fill the weekend.

Passions are very much alive and kicking for Gen Alpha, but their significance has shifted dramatically. They’re not just hobbies they enjoy doing at the weekend: they’re markers of identity. Whether it’s basketball, dance, jewellery-making or card-trading, they’re not just participating in activities, they’re building future versions of themselves.

For brands, that creates a clear commercial opportunity. Gen Alpha’s passions shape what they save for, what they dream of owning, and where they are ready to spend more. But turning fandom into real money is not simply a matter of putting the right product on the shelf. Brands need to show children how far that passion could take them. To illustrate with a brand you’ll know well: let’s talk about Nike.

Walk into one of its flagship stores and you might find basketball courts illuminated by neon lights, motion-tracked football skills challenges, athlete talks and training sessions.

This isn’t everyday passion play. Nike are taking passions and making them shiny. Really shiny. They’re elevating them to the next level and giving Gen Alpha a space that allows them to imagine the possibilities for where they might go next, while making the product feel like part of that journey. And that’s where the value lies.

That’s why kids are happy to save up the big bucks for the Nike shoes, instead of getting the cheaper ones and having plenty left over to spend on Robux and McDonalds shakes.

It’s not just Nike that’s using retail spaces effectively to show kids who they could become. LEGO stores don’t just sell boxes of bricks: they show kids where their builds could take them. And beauty brands like Sephora are sprinkling aspiration throughout in-store experiences with interactive testing stations, personalised recommendations and content creation areas.

In-person retail is a huge opportunity for winning with Alpha: 68% of UK kids and 72% of US kids prefer shopping in-person to online, as we revealed in our Gen Alpha: Born to Shop report. But if you want Alpha to choose you when it comes to investing in their passions, here's our advice. Don’t stop at “Here’s what you like”. Show them how far they could go; show them who they could be.

When brands help children imagine future versions of themselves, commercial success often follows.

If you’re curious about how else Gen Alpha are exploring their passions in more detail, get in touch.