The role of children on family purchase decision-making process

Children hold significantly both more buying power and they do exercise quite strong influence on family purchase decisions today as compared to what they did before. They are affected intensively by several consumer socialization agents at the same time, so are learning to be consumers much earlier and much faster than they used to do. Hence, analyzing how children influence family purchase decisions with the effect of consumer socialization agents is quite important for both marketing strategists and scholars to understand the causes and consequences of children?s role in family consumption.In this study, the role of children in family purchase decision process has been analyzed both from the perspective of children and their parents, with a focus on understanding how children are affected by important consumer socialization agents, especially by media and peer groups during this process.The research showed that children through ages nine and fourteen have a major influence on family purchase decisions for product classes that they are the primary consumers such as childs clothing and mobile phone; they have the least influence on family purchase decisions for car. The stages that children have the significant influence on are ?the need recognition and brand determination stages, whereas they have the least influence on how much to spend stage?. This research also showed that children are affected by different sources of communication and their peer groups while taking family purchase decisions. The research findings showed that parents are not aware of the impact of internet and peer groups on childrens purchase decisions as much as children think that they have.The theoretical and the managerial implications of the findings including the correlations among the role of children in family purchase decision process and the demographics of children and parents have been detailed.Keywords: Family Purchase Decision Stages, Children, Influence, Consumer Socialization Agents