Grocery Store Observation: Parent-Child Interaction in Family Purchases

Abstract

This article explores the phenomenon of pre-operational children's influence in family purchase decisions, namely cereal selection. The conceptual framework for this study is based upon family interaction research and child development and consumer socialization theories. This exploratory research sought to replicate with minor adjustment Atkin's 1978 study of parent and older children's supermarket cereal shopping interactions, using parents and pre-operational children. Too often family research embodied husbands' and wives' perceptions of all family members' roles and relative influence in the household decision-making process to the exclusion of children. Children, even young children, are important members of the family decision-making unit and deserve inclusion.