Gen Alpha steals and resells Nike Elite backpack zippers

Students have resorted to superimposing zippered tractors onto backpacks or removing the pulls altogether. According to comments on TikTok, some schools have banned Nike backpacks. Nike did not respond wealthhis request for comment.

The extreme lengths the Alpha generation goes to earn a few bucks and just garner influence may have something to do with the generation’s obsession with brands. Look no further than the Stanley Cup, a $45 insulated mug that became so popular that middle schoolers swarmed the student body with the cup, cementing it as an instant status symbol.

Teenagers targeting Nike as their next obsession is not surprising. Nike ranks among teenagers’ favorite brands, according to a May report by PR firm DKC, with one in four parents saying their kids like the swoosh. Winning over the generation could be the key to troubled brands like Nike; Gen Alpha is expected to have an economic footprint of $5.46 trillion by 2029, surpassing that of Gen Z and Millennials combined.

But Gen Alpha’s love of viral brands and collectible trinkets is inextricable from their status as digital natives. Those born in 2010 and later spend an average of over two hours online shopping per week, looking for brands based on hype and status. Companies have capitalized on this by planting ads and shopping platforms on Gen Alpha’s favorite social media and gaming platforms like Roblox. It’s no wonder the younger generation is so adept at identifying brand enthusiasm, according to social researcher Mark McCrindle, who coined the term “Gen Alpha.”

“It’s a highly sophisticated generation that has been exposed to brand messaging and influence at a young age,” McCrindle said. The age of the ad. “They are engaging with brands that may be beyond their particular targeting because they have access to information and content consumption beyond their age, which makes them very brand aware.”

While certain products are coveted, trends around brands are often a flash in the pan, according to Casey Lewis, Gen Z consumer analyst and author of the viral After School newsletter. Just a few months after becoming the “it” product, the hype for the Stanley Cups was gone. Most students who wanted one got one and lost the status associated with it.

“They’re absolutely on their way out,” Lewis said Business Insider. “This is the peak of Stanley.”

Gen Alpha’s hype lifecycle is already coming for the Nike zipper-pull trend. Don’t want your guns stolen? Best to find another backpack brand to favor.

“No one at my school has gotten Nike elite bags since the trend started,” said one TikTok commenter.