Increasing role of children in the purchase decisions of family

A tremendous change can be marked over the years in the power of kids in influencing the purchase decisions. Unlike previous generations, the current scenario reveals the importance of children in decisions related to purchase of family groceries, toys, holiday tours, cars etc. Thus now the children are not limited to make choices in toys and sweets but also on goods and services positioned for adults. With the increased exposure to websites, media channels; today's children are much learned, informed and aware of the current market practices. They even at times provide adequate guidance and lead their parents and grandparents for making appropriate selections amongst the competitive brands. Companies have discovered that it is often more effective to target a child while promoting a product than to try to convince a parent to buy their products. Children generally acts on impulses and are more hedonist, due to which lots of marketers speccially the fast food industry gives a dominant consideration to this segment.

The present research is conceptual in nature and focuses on the perceived influence of children resulting from the communication pattern adopted by parents. The paper attempts to have insight on the growing magnitude of children in the decision roles of family.