You could be building your turnover, growing your market share and increasing your profits, but does any of that matter if you’re not down with the kids? The definitive ranking of retailers and brands that children and teens deem to be cool has been released, and it seems some unexpected brands have struck a chord with the nation’s youngsters
Specialist kids and family insights arm of DC Thomson, Beano Brain’s survey of 60,000 kids in the UK drilled down into young people’s finicky idea of “coolness” and the brands they deem to embody it.
More than a quarter of the brands in the top 100 are retailers, a higher proportion than gaming, social media and sports brands, with retail coming second only to the food and drink sector.
Survey respondents are all aged between seven and 14, meaning they mostly belong to Generation Alpha and those over 11 belong to Gen Z. Of the top 100 brands these powerful future generations say are the coolest, Retail Week has extracted the retailers that made the cut.
The draw of a super-simple app full of toys, games and electronics that can be with you on the same day or the next has proven to be irresistible to the nation’s young people – who have declared Amazon to be the coolest retailer in the UK.
The result is almost obvious when you consider the fact that their parents frequently cite ecom behemoth Amazon as their favourite retailer, and there are an incredible 12.9 million Prime members across the UK (Statista, June 2023).
Then when we look at the overall brand rankings, kids voted Netflix as the coolest brand, followed by YouTube, so it tallies that Amazon’s Prime Video operation will help its brand cachet with youngsters.
Toy shops
The coolest toy shop in the UK (according to their most important shoppers) is Smyths, featuring at number two in our ranking, soaring head and shoulders above competitor The Entertainer, which features at 24.
Most of us can recall a fond childhood memory involving a toy shop, so it’s understandable that Smyths lands as 38 in the overall brands list, seen as cooler than far bigger global names such as Instagram, Fifa and Fortnite.
The impact of the pandemic on modern-day childhood has resulted in a greater appreciation of brands that exist in the physical realm, that can be visited and experienced.
“Post-Covid, as the world continues to relive the joy of coming together, brands that represent or create a sense of occasion uniquely linked to them can own the mantle of coolness,” says Beano Brain director of insight Helenor Gilmour.
“Brands that create and then own those moments, allowing kids and families to create their own sense of occasion, captured kids’ hearts this year.”
Supermarkets
The appearance of toy shops in this ranking will shock no one, but the inclusion of most of the UK’s major supermarkets might.
Tesco is deemed the coolest, followed by Asda, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and finally Aldi. Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose aren’t cool enough to break into the top 100.
Most adults weighed down by the soaring price of their groceries may not be able to relate to such a phenomenon, but if you imagine the prospect of visiting a supermarket through the eyes of a young person, unburdened by bills and responsibilities and armed with a small pocket of disposable income, a peruse around big Tesco presents a world of opportunity.
Even if we may consider supermarkets as being for grown-ups, the next generation certainly doesn’t share the same view. In fact, they’ve identified plenty of brands that don’t think of children as their primary market as far cooler than many of the brands that do.
Gilmour says: “Our 2023 lists only serve to highlight the sophisticated tastes of Gen Alpha and their pragmatic adoption of brands, regardless of if they are the key target audience.
“A successful brand captures hearts and minds, which means kids instinctively love brands with salience and a clear proposition. In the uber-crowded world of Gen A this is increasingly important.”
Sports and leisure retailers also rank highly, with Sports Direct at number three in our ranking maintaining a lead on JD Sports at number four for another year.
Value retail
Retailers that aim to save shoppers money are also prominent on the list this year, which is likely to be closely related to parents’ desire to cut back on their spending during the cost-of-living crisis – and perhaps an awareness of that financial pressure manifesting in their young minds to a certain degree.
B&M (22 in our ranking) and Home Bargains (25) both feature, and have huge appeal to kids given their wide range of snack foods and confectionery, toys, stationery, electronics and entertainment, typically at lower prices than traditional retailers. There’s also plenty of surprise with the product ranges of a variety value retailer, which can only serve as a joyous mystery to kids.
Low-cost favourite Primark (6) also ranks higher than any other fashion retailer on the list, thought to be cooler than the more expensive H&M, River Island and Zara.
One reason for this could be Primark’s dedication to collaborations and licensing tie-ups, recently with brands such as Netflix, Disney and Greggs – which all crop up in the overall brand ranking in positions 1, 8 and 34 respectively, the latter as a new entry on the list for 2023.
“Although not necessarily new, what has undoubtedly chimed strongly with Gen Alpha this year is brands collaborating together,” says Beano Brain managing director of commercial insight Pete Maginn.
“In particular, surprise collaborations such as Lego and BTS’ ‘Dynamite’, Doritos and Burger King, and Pringles and Minecraft. These unexpected partnerships seem to have knock-on cool effects working both ways for the brands involved. As a YouTube generation raised on collaborations, Alpha are thrilled by collabs that are totally unexpected but also feature brands that they may love for different reasons.”
It’s a well-known fact that kids can be cruel, so retailers that haven’t made the list shouldn’t be disheartened. According to Gilmour, those that want to improve their reputation for trendiness among the nation’s youth should focus on having salience, a clear proposition, embracing a sense of occasion and being present at children’s key life moments.
However, if you’ve been preoccupied with geeky things like building your turnover and growing your profits, you can rest safe in the knowledge that your shareholders probably think you’re pretty cool.
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