Members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha—despite growing up in digitally saturated environments—routinely engage with retro aesthetics, analog products, and resurfaced memories through features like #Throwback, Facebook Memories, and TikTok’s #nostalgia trend (Cox et al., 2015). These encounters have been shown to heighten positive affect, social connectedness, and identity continuity (Lee-Won et al., 2023), revealing nostalgia as a key emotional driver in contemporary youth culture.
Increasingly, these experiences are shaped and amplified by AI tools, social media algorithms, and virtual influencers. Pinterest (2023) reports a 385% surge in searches for “vintage aesthetic” among 18–24-year-olds, while 73% of Gen Z follow at least one brand on social media and 32% discover brands through influencers (Business Dasher, 2024; Hutchinson, 2024). Prior research demonstrates that social media marketing significantly influences young consumers’ attitudes across cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions—though these effects may vary across the purchase journey (Duffett, 2017). These trends reflect the emergence of a platform–commerce nexus in which nostalgia is not just a cultural current but a key engagement strategy for youth marketing.
Despite nostalgia’s strategic appeal, few academic studies directly examine how it functions within AI-enhanced, influencer-driven marketing ecosystems targeted at young consumers. While the persuasive impact of nostalgic advertising is well documented (Holbrook & Schindler, 2003; Muehling & Pascal, 2011), there is limited understanding of how digital tools personalize and repackage nostalgia—and what this means for consumer well-being, brand trust, and identity development.
There is also a lack of verified Gen Z sample studies, as well as a need for research on longitudinal impacts—such as whether nostalgic campaigns generate lasting loyalty or only transient engagement. Additionally, performative and cross-cultural expressions of nostalgia on platforms like TikTok remain under-theorized, even as brands increasingly adopt them.
Some promising work points the way forward. The Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model has been used to understand how Gen Z responds to AI chatbot experiences (Elayat & Elalfy, 2025), and research on virtual influencers shows that novelty-seeking youth may engage differently depending on psychological drivers (Kholkina et al., 2025). The COVID-19 pandemic further amplified nostalgic behaviors, intensifying emotional responses to memory-driven content (Xiang et al., 2024; Lee-Won et al., 2023).
This special issue invites contributions that extend these insights through a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. These may include:
- Consumer Culture Theory (CCT): to examine how nostalgia operates as a symbolic and emotional resource in youth identity construction;
- Technology Acceptance Model (TAM): to investigate how digitally native consumers evaluate and adopt retro-themed technologies and campaigns.
- Perceived Value Theory : to examine how young consumers evaluate nostalgic content and experiences, not only in terms of functional or monetary value, but also through emotional, social and epistemic dimensions.
- Social Identity Theory : to explore how nostalgic consumption fosters group belonging and identity signaling among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
We also welcome alternative frameworks—including critical and cross-cultural approaches—that center Gen Z and Gen Alpha not just as media consumers, but as co-creators of nostalgic meaning in the digital age.
List of Topic Areas
- Nostalgia Marketing in the Digital Era
– Marketing strategies for relaunching iconic brands to young consumers
– The role of (digital) influencers in promoting retro products to young consumers across platforms
– The use of digital tools in recreating and modernizing nostalgic experiences for digital-native consumers
– Analyzing the effectiveness of nostalgia marketing across different cultural and generational contexts
– Intergenerational transmission of nostalgic tastes and brand affinities - AI-Enhanced Hybrid Consumption Experiences
– Utilizing AI to create hybrid brand experiences that blend nostalgic elements with advanced technologies for Gen Z and Gen Alpha
– AI-powered virtual influencers and their role in shaping young consumers’ connection to retro aesthetics
– The impact of AI-enhanced augmented reality (AR) in reviving nostalgic brand experiences targeted at youth audiences
– Leveraging AI to predict emerging retro trends and their adoption by digital-native young consumers
– The role of digital tools and AI in generating viral nostalgic content specifically among youth on social media platforms - Emerging Youth Identities and Consumer Behaviors
– AI analysis of “kidult” behavior: balancing high-tech consumption with childhood products
– The role of nostalgia in shaping Gen Z and Gen Alpha identity and belonging
– Identity signaling through retro aesthetics in youth fashion, gaming, and entertainment
– Youth resistance to hyper-digital environments through analog or nostalgic preferences - Ethical and Responsible Marketing Practices
– The ethics of using AI to influence nostalgia-driven purchasing decisions in young consumers
– Responsible brand storytelling: ensuring transparency in nostalgia campaigns targeting youth
– The impact of nostalgia-based marketing on youth mental health and well-being
– Regulating AI-powered nostalgia marketing: risks, safeguards, and ethical frameworks
– Addressing algorithmic bias and fairness in nostalgic content delivery to youth
Promoting digital literacy and participatory approaches in nostalgia-based campaigns aimed at young consumers
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/yc
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/yc
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key Deadlines
Submissions Open: 21st January 2026
Submissions Close: 29th May 2026
