The next generation is coming: meet the Betas

WGSN forecasts trends across five consumer groups (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z and Alphas), but we’re now making room for a sixth. Betas are the newest consumer group set to arrive between the mid-2020s and 2040, and despite not yet being born, we can foresee what kind of world they will inherit.

By understanding the macro factors that will shape this group, we can better be prepared for their future needs and create innovations and services that can better support them.

So who is Generation Beta?

In addition to being the kids of a chronically online generation, the Betas will be AI-first, shaping how they live, learn, play and work. But being the first generation to grow up in an artificially intelligent proposes a dilemma: 

In a world where deepfake media means truth is not a fixed concept (90% of all online content could be AI-generated by 2026), will they spend their lives searching for reality?

The reality is that the arrival of AI on this scale is akin to the era-defining technological developments of older generations, such as the internet or the smartphone, and will shape everything about their coming-of-age and adulthood experiences. An artificially intelligent world will be the only one Betas ever know, shaping their professional and personal lives in the decades ahead.

But AI is not the only factor that will define this generation. Through our STEPIC lens - WGSN proprietary methodology that tracks how changes in society, technology, the environment, politics, industry and creativity - we explore other factors like fertility decline and how an automated workforce will also impact the Betas.

Download here the sample of our consumer forecast “Generational Futures: The Betas” and learn more about the macro factors that will shape Generation Beta's reality.