How candy placements in films influence children’s selection behavior in real-life shopping scenarios – an Austrian experimental field study

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis is the first paper to provide findings on how candy placements in films influence children’s (ages three to nine) selection behavior in real-life shopping situations. Furthermore, it offers insights into both influencing factors barely discussed in previous research and the underlying effect mechanisms. A field experiment was performed in natural viewing and shopping scenarios. For the first time, children aged 3 to 5 were incorporated. Results of multilevel and logistic regression moderation and mediation analyses show that the risk of selecting a placed product was more than nine times higher in the treatment group than in the control group, which was moderated by age: younger children were more likely to select the advertised products. Neither gender nor consumption habits affected the correlation. The time span between stimulus and choice tended to have an influence. Findings support the assumption of implicit persuasion processes via evaluative conditioning and, partially, mere-exposure-effects.