Retail media may benefit as Gen Alpha ad targeting restrictions complicate child-level attribution

What happened

Restrictions on behavioural tracking and targeted advertising aimed at children may drive more Gen Alpha advertising budgets toward retail and commerce media, as brands seek to measure sales without tracking individual young consumers through the digital advertising funnel. This reallocation reflects a broader reset in how brands could spend money to reach Gen Alpha. Dingra estimates that 35 to 50 percent of Gen Alpha media currently reliant on behavioural or audience-level targeting could be reallocated over the next few years.