Although a child has no income, he or she does have a large "pocketbook". How to provide today's children with the goods and services they love has become one of the most important marketing tasks.

From the point of view of consumer psychology, the characteristics, design, packaging and promotion strategies of children's goods are key to suit the psychological characteristics and purchasing behavior of children and how children's stores can be designed and operated in a more convenient way for them, which are important aspects of children's goods marketing. The media, especially TV commercials, play an important role in children's consumer psychology and buying behavior. How advertising guides children's consumption has become a business and social issue.

Channels for children to receive information about toys

According to a survey, more than 75% of children get information about new toys from television. Most of the rest get their information from their peers. Recent surveys also show that the four channels through which children get information about Christmas gifts are television, stores, peers and the Internet.

But more importantly: children are not entirely in charge of their own spending, so who is influencing children's spending behavior today? Recent research suggests that children's consumption is primarily influenced by parents, peers, teachers, and advertisements and businesses. This paper provides some analysis that may shed some light on the marketing responses of children's merchandisers.

The initial and most important influencers of children's consumption

According to consumer psychology, children's consumption behavior begins at the age of four or five. Parents already have the most important influence in children's lives. Parents teach children how to satisfy their instinctive and psychological needs and become the primary satisfier of children's needs. Parents carry children to the store when they are still infants. Parents take the initiative to teach children how to use money by allowing them to give money to the shopkeeper and put coins into the vending machine. Parents encourage children to go shopping alone in nearby stores .......

Children have numerous opportunities to observe. Children accompany their parents to the supermarket, where they sit in the shopping cart and watch their parents intently select items such as lettuce, bread, and ham. Children may not know why their parents are doing this when they are trained to consume, but they will do it years later.

Occasions for training children's consumer behavior

In addition to the market, the home environment is another setting for training children's consumer behavior. In the home environment, children have the opportunity to learn effective and ineffective spending behaviors by observing their parents' spending practices. At home, parents talk with their children about household consumer goods, especially children's consumer goods. This discussion allows children to develop an understanding of the criteria they will use to select their own goods in the future, such as how to choose toys, snacks, and clothes. Children and their parents talk about television commercials, which in turn help children understand the truth and purpose of the commercials. Children also have the opportunity to see how their parents use the products and to hear their comments about them.

Parents do not rate children based on how many cheap items they buy, or how much money they save on shopping, but are more interested in the children's successful spending behavior. This is an important aspect of their social adjustment when they grow up.

Peer Influence on Children's Spending Behavior

Every parent who has raised a child knows the tremendous influence peers have on their children, which begins in elementary school and grows over the years, surpassing parental influence by young adulthood.

Research on consumer psychology shows that peer influence permeates all aspects of children's consumer behavior, for example, peer influence is evident in the selection of drinks and candy for 5-year-olds, in the choice of clothes and toys for 7-year-olds, and even in the desire for cars for 9-year-olds. Research data suggest that peer influence is stronger than advertising and merchandising goals among third graders, however, researchers have also found that this influence diminishes for older children.

Two Types of Influences on Children's Consumer Behavior

The researchers concluded that people's consumption behaviors are influenced by a variety of factors, but in general they can be grouped into two categories: need congruence and satisfaction. Consistency of needs means that in order to be accepted by a group, children like to conform to the standards of the group, which is usually people of their own age. When you wear the same brand of sneakers, have the same logo on your shirt, and have the same haircut as others, it is easier to join them. At the same time, children who are influenced by their peers are satisfied in the following areas: the need for understanding, the need for interaction, and the need for success.