We could say that we are living in the era of trampoliners. On one hand are the parents, who have different memories of jumping on trampolines in their home gardens and at friends’ and neighbours’ houses. On the other hand are children born after 2000, who have been able to enjoy their jumping adventures at increasingly popular trampoline parks.
We are talking about two generations that are extremely significant to the evolution of humanity and on whose foundations our future is built, which at the same time are generations that grew up during an era of technological progress and digitalisation, and among whom trampolining is exceptionally popular.
Who are the millennials?
Millennials are people born between 1981 and 1996 and who are currently between 20 and 40 years old. They characteristically enjoyed a higher level of material prosperity than their parents, and also had the opportunity to use modern technologies while they were growing up.
The point is that older millennials today are quite different to the preceding generations. Parenting is extremely important to them, but despite the fact that caring for their children is their main priority, they still find time for themselves and for sharing leisure time with their family.
Millennials also differ from previous generations in their spending habits. They are willing to spend more money on their children, toys, digital and smart devices, but they are also hungry for adventures, new experiences and enjoying their lives.
Millennials and the popularity of trampolines
When we combine these facts with the results of research on the demographic breakdown of visitors to trampoline parks, we find that this is a group of adults among which the popularity of trampoline parks has increased significantly in the last few years.
The main reasons for this can be attributed to the fact that these are the parents of Generation Alpha children, among whom trampolining is particularly popular. Millennials in this case generally find themselves in the role of their chaperones, and since family comes first with millennials, trampolining is a great opportunity for them to enjoy active leisure time with their families.
Generation Alpha – the children of millennials
Generation Alpha includes children born in 2010 and later, so they are mostly children of millennials. They were born during the era of smart phones, social networks and other smart tech, so it is not surprising that most of them have mastered these technologies by the time they are 8.
What is important for the global market is that Generation Alpha strongly influences the shopping habits of their entire families. Since we know that they are children of millennials, who are prepared to spend a lot of money on their children, it should come as no surprise that a full 31% of millennial parents think that their children prefer technology and smart devices to toys, and some 27% of parents listen to their children’s opinions before purchasing smart devices.
Popularity of trampolining highest among Generation Alpha
Given the fact that Generation Alpha is strongly characterised by digitalisation, sociability, visualisation and mobility, it is not surprising that they are constantly looking for opportunities to have fun and discover new experiences. We conclude that this is another of the main reasons that this group of children enjoys visiting trampoline parks, as they are the largest among all visitor groups.
This research shows that 9-year-old children are the largest age group, which means that these are children born in 2010, i.e. Generation Alpha. While they were growing up, trampoline parks experienced their largest boom in history, with their numbers doubling every year, which offered them excellent opportunities for active and fun leisure time activities.
Nowadays we are seeing increasing numbers of trampolines in people’s home yards and gardens, as they are an excellent way for the whole family to spend leisure time, which is a priority for millennial parents.
The desires and needs of Generation Alpha and millennials are also dictating development trends for trampoline parks
According to some data, a full 50% of visitors to trampoline parks spend an average of 10 hours a day online, and many spend nearly three hours a day watching television or videos, listening to music, playing computer games and using social networks on their smart phones.
Due to their specific needs for visualisation and digitalisation, trampoline parks nowadays are no longer just large complexes with trampolines, but are true adventure parks, which offer a lot more. The endless possibilities made possible by innovations and technological progress allow the use of state-of-the-art graphics, lights and music, which is all the more attractive for Generation Alpha and their parents, who grew up with technology.
The fact that millennial parents are a lot more interested in experiences and adventures than consumer goods serves to underscore the fact that trampolining with their children is exceptionally important to them, and is one of the nicest ways of bonding and functioning together as a family. Since both groups grew up during a global boom in trampolining, it is no surprise that this activity is so popular among them.
