How Claire’s keeps up with the ‘digital natives’ of Gen Alpha
Meghan Hurley, vp of marketing at Claire’s, believes that one of the key differences between Gen Z and Gen Alpha is that the latter has a “much more immersive” experience with technology. Members of Gen Alpha were born between 2010 and 2024, roughly, with the eldest members hitting their teenage years — meaning they are now squarely in the cohort that Claire’s, a jewelry and piercing retailer that caters to teens and tweens, wants to target.
Members of Gen Alpha are used to asking their Alexa devices a question and getting the answer instantaneously, Hurley said. They’re building their own digital worlds in Roblox, collecting new outfits and other digital assets each day.
In turn, the big challenge for the company is that “Claire’s has to figure out a way to catch up or keep up” with what Gen Alpha is expecting, Hurley said.
At the Modern Retail Marketing Summit in New Orleans, Hurley spoke about how Claire’s is doing just that: how the company is approaching new entertainment channels like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and rethinking its product assortment to better cater to Gen Alpha.
To stay on top of what these consumers are interested in, Claire’s has a panel of about 500 Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha customers in the U.S. and France that the brand regularly polls, Hurley said.
As Hurley describes it, with this panel Claire’s wants to “dip in and out” of members’ lives. So Claire’s is polling them on questions like, “What are you planning for your graduation?” or “What are you doing for Spring Break?” to get a more holistic sense of their habits and values, rather than simply surveying them about what they are buying.
As Hurley sees it, while certain trends come and go, Claire’s wants to remain “the place for that coming-of-age moment.” For many millennials, that coming-of-age moment was getting their ears pierced — and Claire’s was the place where they did just that. And Claire’s does still offer piercing services. But increasingly, the company also wants to be the place where teens and tweens go to decorate their rooms — the company also sells decor like pillows, jewelry boxes, stationary and more — or to build their own friendship bracelet.
Last year, Claire’s got into body care, launching a small line that contains lotions, body scrubs and more. Claire’s decided to launch body care, Hurley said, because the customer kept asking for it.
With this, Claire’s has had to rethink how it expands into new categories.
“Normally, the way we look at products is we bring it in, and it kind of is part of the [existing] category,” Hurley said. “Now, we’re starting to say, like, ‘OK, so this season, we’re going to bring in this little vignette of products, see how it does, and then next season, try out something new.’”
The company is also looking to reach customers in new places. Claire’s may be known as a mall stalwart, but the brand can be found in many more places beyond the mall. It opened a high-end store in Paris, for example, in 2023. Claire’s has also started working with more wholesale partners like Walmart, Kroger and more to carry a seasonal product selection; think St. Patrick’s Day jewelry or an Easter-themed bracelet.
“You kind of see us in a lot of different areas, and for us, it’s great because it we have very high brand awareness. Not a lot of people are always going to the mall. So for us, it’s about making sure that we are still in front of the customer,” Hurley said. Licensing deals with “Wicked,” Barbie, Hello Kitty and more have also helped keep Claire’s in front of that Gen-Alpha customer, Hurley added.
But for the Gen-Alpha teenager that’s immersed in technology, perhaps the most important way for Claire’s to reach these consumers is through social media. One of the most interesting trends that Claire’s is seeing, according to Hurley, is that parents and children are “watching social like Instagram together, or entertainment like Tiktok and YouTube.” For parents and children, it’s this bonding moment where they can share with one another a funny YouTube video they saw that day — and so Claire’s is looking for creators who can cater to both demographics.
That is one of the key challenges for a brand like Claire’s, no matter which generation it is speaking to. Claire’s still has to speak to parents in its marketing, Hurley said, “but also not make it look like a parent recommended that Claire’s is a place to go, because it needs to be discoverable by Gen Alpha.”