The Influence of Children on Purchases: The Development of Measures for Gender Role Orientation and Shopping Savvy

Abstract

The changing composition of the family, changes in gender role orientation and individual differences in marketing or shopping 'savvy' seem likely to affect the degree of influence of different family members in various stages of a purchase. This paper describes the key planning and exploratory stages of a collaborative academic-practitioner project designed to identify the determinants of a child's relative influence within a family in relation to purchase decisions. Specifically, the paper describes the planning and exploratory stages involved in construct definitions, choice of measures (ready-made or purpose-built) and their screening and development in consultation with a sample of adults and children and a team of practitioners, academics and teachers.