Every touchpoint, every interaction, every moment leaves an imprint. This is also true when it comes to brands. People don’t remember the specs or details, they remember how your brand made them feel.

In a world where we move effortlessly across platforms, categories and markets our expectations move with us. An airline that sends proactive delay updates makes silence from other travel providers feel careless. A clothing brand that offers same-day delivery makes next-day feel slow. A seamless interaction in one sector instantly becomes the new standard everywhere else. It sets the ‘Olympic minimum’ and this keeps evolving with every new experience we come across.

We’ve all heard of the ‘Amazon Effect’ right? A frictionless shopping process with near-immediate results, Amazon made instant convenience the norm. We have also seen TikTok fast emerge as a growing e-commerce giant, integrating the perfect algorithm of entertainment with one-click shopping. Our point is in today’s world whether you’re booking your latest mini break through Airbnb, ordering an Uber or wanting to get your hands on the latest in tech or fashion you have the same expectations: you want a straightforward, convenient and seamless experience.

This is the essence of Liquid Expectations, where consumer expectations have extended beyond industry, category, product boundaries and even generations. We see Gen Alpha is shaping these expectations more than any other consumer cohort. Raised on real-time recommendations, interactive content and instant gratification, they’re not just digital natives, they’re experience natives – their lens defines what good experiences look like for everyone.

They demand fluidity between platforms, relevance without friction and experiences that feel as intuitive as the apps they are growing up with. As their standards influence parents, grandparents, peers and the population at large, understanding this generation is necessary to shaping the future of experiences. In a Liquid Expectations world, their baseline quickly becomes everyone else’s.

Generating a staggering $100 billion in direct spending power annually, or to look at it another way, spending nearly as much as the GDP of Bulgaria it’s fair to say they hold some pretty high influence when it comes to purchasing power. But what does this actually mean for brands?

Brands are so heavily interwoven in the lives of Gen Alpha that there is an expectation for brands that they show up for life’s big moments and milestones. Constant innovation, lightning fast-delivery, reliability and a far-reaching product range is simply a baseline expectation. Gen Alpha also thrives on brand collaborations which echo the reality of their own fluid world.

Two brands who will be winning big with this generation are LEGO and Nike with their recent multi-year collaboration. Through co-branded products, immersive experiences and a stream of relatable content, LEGO’s boundless creativity meets Nike’s always-on design energy and trend-driven drops. Resulting in a fusion of trend and imagination that strongly resonates with Gen Alpha, while allowing each powerhouse brand to deliver what the other doesn’t have. The facts speak for themselves with the recent release of the Nike Dunk x LEGO brick set which sold out in minutes.