For more than 60 years, Claire's has been synonymous with first ear piercings and mall trips with friends. But today's Gen Alpha shopper, armed with a $22 weekly allowance and strong opinions shaped by social media, requires more than nostalgia to win their loyalty.

"What mom thinks is cool is really not anything other than a gateway to what gets her in the door," said Jillian Cueff, chief merchandising officer at Claire's, on a recent episode of "Reimagining Retail." "We know that it's not what's going to make us win with Gen Alpha, so we really know that we have to listen to her."

The accessories and piercing retailer is overhauling everything from store design to product assortment while keeping the core identity that made it a rite of passage for generations of girls.

Gen Alpha is driving product and design decisions

Claire's is putting its 6-to-14-year-old customer at the center of every decision, even when it contradicts internal assumptions. When the company planned to abandon its signature purple in store remodelings, Gen Alpha focus groups pushed back.

"Gen Alpha was like, 'You can't take purple away from Claire's. It's important,'" Cueff said. "That was a really big change for us, and we were like, 'Whoa, we need to listen.'"

Claire's retired its dark purple for "Lilith," a softer lavender shade that resonates with today's young shoppers. The company is rolling out this new store experience across its fleet before the holiday season.

Gen Alpha influences 50% of family spending decisions, according to Cueff, who said that makes this generation more empowered than any before it. Retailers must treat these young consumers as primary decision-makers rather than as influencers of parental purchases.

Product merchandising reflects how kids actually shop

A store visit with her daughter gave Cueff a critical insight. When faced with Claire's jewelry wall, she became overwhelmed and turned away, gravitating instead to beauty products she understood how to use.

"She was like, 'Mom, it was just a lot. Like, I didn't know what to do with it,'" Cueff said. "That really was a light bulb for me, which says, 'Okay, maybe we don't need to organize by necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.'"

Claire's reorganized its entire jewelry section by metal type rather than product category, allowing customers to confidently create coordinated looks. The retailer also embraced viral product trends early, stocking sensory toys like NeeDohs and fidgets before they went mainstream.

The piercing experience gets an upgrade

Parents demand trust and safety when allowing their children to get pierced, prompting Claire's to dedicate more floor space to the piercing experience. The new design removes merchandising clutter that made the area feel like "getting pierced in a bazaar," Cueff said.

The physical store remains Claire's primary channel, so the in-store experience has to carry the brand. Customers may find inspiration on social media, but the store is where Claire's has to make that inspiration real.

Despite pressure to chase every trend, Claire's maintains clear guardrails on its assortment, particularly in beauty. Cueff said the retailer refuses to stock products that encourage young girls to address insecurities they shouldn't have at their age.

"We're not gonna tell you that you need an anti-aging serum at 10 years old," she said. "We are here to celebrate her, not to tell her anything needs to change."

This philosophy extends to Claire's positioning as "a modern playground for girlhood," a rare dedicated space for this demographic in malls where most competitors push girls to age up prematurely.

Expanding reach through retail partnerships

Claire's is growing its presence beyond its own stores through a consumer packaged goods (CPG) business partnership with Centric, placing products in Walmart, Kohl's, and other retailers. This strategy allows the brand to explore different categories and price points while maintaining its specialty store identity.

"You'll get the full expression of our brand in our retail stores, and then through the CPG business, you'll see expanded assortments in various categories in prices that we frankly are not playing in in our stores," Cueff said.

The approach creates brand awareness at mass retailers while preserving reasons to visit Claire's stores, including exclusive collaborations Cueff says are "in the pipeline."

Cueff's advice for retailers attempting similar transformations is to put customer obsession ahead of merchant intuition.

"Listen to the customer," she said. "Be customer obsessed, and don't rely on feelings. Use facts to help guide your decisions."

Claire's transformation depends on knowing what's untouchable (first moments of girlhood, the piercing experience) and what must adapt (store design, merchandising strategy, product assortment) so the brand stays relevant to each new generation of girls.

Listen to the full episode.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribehere.