WHY KIDS BUY

Kids Tap INTO TRENDS

A look at what influences the consumer reach of each childhood age group, from mom and must-have colors to the media and fashion trends

BY ERINN MORGAN

Do kids have influence in the optical dispensary? The answer is a resounding yes, especially given the fact that today’s kids influence up to 80 percent of all household purchases.

Kids under the age of 17 fall under the moniker of Generation Z, a group consisting of about 23 million-plus members. Linked to the Internet, social media, and television, this generation is more media savvy than any other. This makes Generation Z more in tune with trends than any other generation group before them. In addition, today’s parents foster independence and encourage their children more than ever to make their own decisions (or at least help in the decision-making process).

“Today’s kids are allowed to make their own decisions more than ever,” says Mary Walker, certified ophthalmic executive (COE) and director of operations at Vision Associates, a group that helps manage ophthalmology practices across the country. “I encourage parents to do that, because if the kids love their glasses they will wear them. And, when you capture the kid you capture the whole family.”

TREND SPOTTING

Having the right products and knowing what each age group wants will help boost the kids business in the dispensary. There are key considerations in reaching the sweet spot of product appeal that includes the right colors, shapes, sizes, brands, and styles.

“Kids today are much more in tune with trends,” says Tamra Sons, team leader at Conner Smith Eye Care in Seymour, IN. “I’ve been working with kids for nine years and I see that today they have more style variance in eyewear than ever before. Now they really tune into adult style and follow those trends—the sky’s the limit and that makes it an easier sale.”

How can ECPs fine-tune their childrens’ eyewear selection and their presentation of frames to kids?

HAPPINESS AT EVERY AGE

Look no further than our guide to what kids want—their color, brand, and style preferences—at every childhood age.

“What they’re into, whether it’s eyewear or another consumer product, is first best answered developmentally,” says Julie Halpin, president of Next Step, a youth and family consulting company, and founder and former CEO of The Geppetto Group, a kids’ research and consulting company. “What kids want is really based on developmental milestones.”

INFANT/TODDLER (0-2)

THEIR INFLUENCES: According to Halpin, the children in this infant/toddler space are all about mom. “The child has very little say—that’s mom’s territory,” she says. “But it’s also new that moms have told us in our research that they want their kids to have an opinion and a say in what they get, especially when it comes to attire of any kind.”

WHAT APPEALS: The essentials that appeal most to this developmental group are things like letters and numbers and colors and shapes. “The books they’re reading and entertainment they’re watching is very fundamental,” says Halpin.

Ted Baker style B922 from Tura

Licensed characters are also popular with this age subset. “Kids are aware of characters and they already have a relationship with them,” she says. “When Elmo appears on a backpack or eyewear or food, it’s about much more than recognition—it’s the relationship.”

PRESCHOOLER (3-5)

THEIR INFLUENCES: When kids hit the preschool age range, they begin to be aware of their ability to influence decisions and purchases, says Halpin. “At this stage, they start asking for things and learning how to negotiate,” she adds.

WHAT APPEALS: According to kid-focused ECPs, color rules with this age group. “They are primarily focused on the colors they want,” says Bill Fleetman, dispensary manager at Pediatric and Specialty Optical in Grand Rapids, MI. “Girls love pink and purple, but some like blue; and the boys will be drawn to red or blue or more colorful frames in yellow or orange—this is a more trendy look.”

DilliDalli style Buttercup from ClearVision Optical

Kids in this age range can also be drawn to eyewear featuring their favorite television and cartoon characters. At A Child’s View, which has three child-specific locations in the Laguna Hills, CA, area, kids are engaged in the eyewear fitting process with special details. “We try to point out the different things on the frames, like a butterfly or a kitty cat or a tiara made of stones,” says Robert Silva, ABOC, frame buyer and manager of the Laguna Hills location. “We show them these little things and that’s what gets them going. You can tell them that it is from a certain brand and they will probably look at you blank, but if you show them these little details it draws them in to help make the decision.”

Middle Childhood (6-8)

THEIR INFLUENCES: This age ushers in a big developmental stage—and a world that expands beyond mom. They also have more of an opinion about what they want than ever before.

“What starts to appeal to them are things that come from other kids,” says Halpin. “They learn from their peers at school and beyond, whether trying a new food in someone else’s lunch box or at a sleepover—things are shared among tribes of kids.”

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT: KIDS, BRANDS, AND BUYING

AGE: 0-1
Babies begin to recognize brands by forming mental images of corporate logos and mascots.

AGE: 1-2
Brand loyalty can begin this early.

AGE: 3-5
By age three, one out of five American children make specific requests for brand-name products.

AGE: 5-7
Kids are ready to make their “own” parent-financed purchases.

AGE: 7-10
Finally armed with some of their own discretionary income, kids start making some of their own purchases. They are much more in control of purchases at this age and stage.

WHAT APPEALS: While kids in this age group can still be influenced by favorite colors and characters, children start to show more individual preferences here. “They’re not little kids but they’re not big kids yet, either,” says Vision Associates’ Walker. “Choices start to boil down more to the personality of the kid. Some are still driven by color, especially girls, but boys get more conservative in this age range.”

Instead, boys opt more for sporty looks. “An eight-year-old boy today wants that tween-oriented sporty look,” says Walker. “They’re over some of the characters by then; it’s not about Dora and Clifford anymore.”

According to Fleetman, girls at this age tend to gravitate more towards the cool plastic frames. “They might be into colors, too, but they might not like as bright of a hot pink as they did when they were younger.”

Kensie Girl style Tropical from Kenmark

TWEENS (9-12)

THEIR INFLUENCES: A strong sense of independence starts to emerge in this age range. “Tweens are starting to emerge as their own individuals but they are still a kid, with one foot in world of adolescence and one foot in the world of kids,” says Halpin. She also notes that in everything from entertainment to apparel, tweens crave things that have a balance between fantasy and reality.

“This age loves popular music stars that are almost manufactured, like Hannah Montana. They like it because it’s highly produced and highly orchestrated but it still seems like it could be them up there,” she says.

WHAT APPEALS: Every child is different at this age. “Sometimes they want to be noticed and sometimes they just want to glide, especially the boys,” says Silva.

“If I have a child wearing a metal frame at age five, he is likely not going to budge from that metal frame style even at age 10 because he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself,” he explains.

Girls are more daring in this age range, says Walker, who notes that they often want a designer name, bolder shapes, and even heavy tortoise and black colors are popular.

Says Conner Smith Eye Care’s Sons: “Girls really start looking at fashion at this age.”

THE 7 FACES OF MOM

Here’s a guide to the variety of moms (and their relationship to products and purchasing) you may be serving as a part of kids’ eyewear fitting experience:

1 POLICE MOM: She is proficient at reading labels and filtering out the bad from her child’s experience.

2 ALL-PERFECT MOM: She wants a win-win—things that make her kids happy and that also make her feel she made the right choice, like Baked Cheetos.

3 GREAT EXPECTATIONS MOM: She wants to inspire creativity and potential in her children at every age by giving them what they need. She may be more inclined to buy the wooden toys that don’t have electronics to inspire natural creativity.

4 NEW MOM ON THE BLOCK: This is the insecurity that every mom feels at every new stage of her child’s development. A lot of products speak to this mom by promising to help them through a developmental stage.

5 VICARIOUS MOM: She is influenced in her purchases by the thought that the decisions that she makes will say something about her, particularly her clothing and accessories choices.

6 CONNECTED MOM: She is also known as “Nostalgia Mom.” She will buy Campbell’s soups because she knows it and has good memories of it from growing up. She doesn’t care about newer options that might be available. She wants to connect with the past or to tradition.

7 MILLENNIUM MOM: This mom is very happy to be a mom in 2014—she’s happy for apps and she embraces technology, innovation, and new things.

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[From research conducted by The Geppetto Group.]