last word

Grace Hewlett

Kids Push Family Purchases

In the typical American family, purchasing decisions have been traditionally made by mom and dad. The sequence: decision made; kids informed.

Not so anymore, however, and that fundamental change in the family dynamic impacts everything… including the way eyewear is purchased for children. According to “International GPS: Kids’ Influence” by Nickelodeon, the child’s role in family purchasing decisions has risen rapidly over the last few years. Be it for the child’s glasses or the family pet, buying is now mostly collaborative within families.

KEY PURCHASE PATTERNS

The study’s results—which were culled from questions posed to 6,900 kids and 8,700 parents—offer sound support for marketing your eyewear brands and yourself directly to younger patients.

Among its findings are five key patterns in how families collaborate to make purchases.

1. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. This is the most common approach, with 56 percent of respondents saying a parent decides, but only after the kids’ input.

2. FAMILY MEETING. Just more than four out of 10 families (44 percent) use this strategy, in which both parents and kids reach a decision together.

3. PARENT SCREEN. In this scenario, seen in 20 percent of families, parents offer options and let the child pick.

4. BECAUSE I SAID SO. Though many of us older than 30 grew up with this one, only 13 percent of today’s parents still use the hard-line approach.

5. KIDS CUT LOOSE. Nine percent of parents simply leave those decisions up to the child.

Of all the stats in the survey, perhaps the most important to optical is the fact that 95 percent of parents discuss product with their kids before making purchases for them. And, how do those young consumers form their opinions about product? The study shows that kids learn about brands from friends, online, and through ads on TV.

Asked what motivates them to request a specific brand, 62 percent of kids surveyed said their requests resulted from TV commercials, half from brands they had observed online, and 46 percent from the pages of periodicals. EB