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MKTG815: Management - Consumer Behaviour - Value Savvy Kids Go Shopping Case Study Assessment Answer
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Internal Code: 1AGHGJ
Code: MKTG815
Value Savvy Kids Go Shopping Case Study Assessment Answer
Assignment Task: MKTG815 An 11-year-old boy arrives at the park on a Saturday morning for footy; he points out a player in the opposing team and says: ‘He must be really good, mum, he’s wearing the new Nike Hypervenom boots, the ones I’m saving up for!’ What do children value when they go shopping? Why are some products and brands favoured over others and does this change as they get older? MKTG815 Value has been largely studied with adults and is found to comprise the benefits a consumer perceives they get, as well as what they have to give up, the perceived costs.1 Children are a unique consumer group: they are learning to be consumers through the process of consumer socialisation, and psychological research demonstrates that their conceptual understanding is changing.2,3 Research on children’s consumer behaviour finds major changes in their ability and thinking as they grow. They are increasingly able to think about more than one aspect of a product and to take others’ perspectives into account in their decision making. Children also change from relying on what we call concrete attributes to incorporate what we call abstract concepts in their decisions and this is reflected in their understanding of brands.4 These concrete attributes are things like colour and size, which can be directly experienced, whereas abstract concepts are those that are intangible and unable to be directly experienced via the senses. Examples of abstract concepts are aspects like quality or sophistication. Concrete attributes are often used to signal abstract concepts. MKTG815 Given that evidence suggests that most children have shopped by the time they are eight years old5 and that this age limit is getting younger as the internet facilitates their ability to do so,6 we asked children exactly what they consider when thinking about value while shopping.7 A developing concept of value - MKTG815 Children indicated that they shop from a limited variety of categories. They purchase toys and food at younger ages, but the variety gets broader as they age incorporating such categories as clothing, footwear, books, computer games and phones. Thinking about these categories it is apparent that their purchasing is mainly about wants rather than needs, with adults usually catering to their lower-level needs in developed economies. To begin with, the focus is on the benefits they will gain, but children discuss being concerned with money once they gain experience purchasing. Just like adults, they consider benefits and costs when they shop, but exactly what these benefits are and the ways in which they consider them changes as they grow older. Emotional, social and functional benefits are paramount, while novelty benefits are salient for certain products that are new or where variety creates interest. Costs children consider are mainly financial or product-performance related. As children develop they are able to consider a greater number of benefits and costs and their value perceptions become increasingly complex. One of the most important benefits for children is emotional. MKTG815 Is it all about emotion? MKTG815 ‘If I love it, I’ll buy it!’ The immediate emotional response to the sensory aspects of a product such as its beauty or style are paramount for children and found to contribute to perceived value for children of all ages. Football boots that ‘look cool’ will make a child ‘feel happy’ and this source of value prevails over other benefits at young ages. While emotional value is a key value perceived in purchases, it is usually not considered in isolation. How about what it is supposed to do? MKTG815 Children are usually also concerned with what products can do! For toys, attributes like the complexity or moving parts, and for clothes the material or features such as adjustability might be considered. They consider the amount of use they will get and this extends to the duration of this use as they get older. Quality emerges as children gain experience shopping, with nine-year-olds beginning to mention quality aspects of durable goods, such as whether it will last or break straight away. As children grow older this becomes a common consideration along with the fit for clothing and shoes and how well the product is made. And will I fit in and is it reflective of who I am? The social value of products is an important value consideration. If children can use the product with others or it increases their social acceptability, it enhances the value. If they can show their new football boots to their friends and they will probably be impressed, this will contribute to their social value. If their new boots allow them to play with others who are good footballers, then this social acceptance will contribute value. Until around 10 years of age, these are the predominant social considerations. By 11 years of age children have a more nuanced understanding of the ability of products to enhance their social self-image and reflect who they are. This reveals an understanding of the symbolic nature of products. MKTG815 The boy arriving at footy and observing the boots of his opponent assesses the opponent’s ability on the basis of the quality of his boots. This assessment reveals a rudimentary understanding of the social symbolic meaning of goods and his desire to also own a pair reflects the social symbolic value these boots are considered to confer. Am I just curious? Some products such as new flavours or products have value because of their novelty or the curiosity they satisfy and children recognise this newness contributing value. MKTG815 Novelty/curiosity value is often category specific and is associated with entertainment and food purchases. What about costs? MKTG815 Finally, children consider the monetary sacrifice and risks involved in their purchase. Very young children simply think about price in terms of affordability, making them vulnerable to unethical pricing practices. As they get older they consider price magnitude and can compare prices more accurately. They develop an understanding of what certain benefits are ‘worth’ in monetary terms. They also consider the financial and performance risks. Despite their increasingly savvy value perceptions, the benefits can far outweigh the costs, especially if children have the money. The children in this study received money in many ways—gifts, pocket money or as payment for chores—yet their ability to relate the monetary price in quantitative terms to the benefits they perceived reflected a naïve level of understanding. Hence an 11-year-old boy may be willing to pay around $240 for the latest Nike football boots. These are boots he loves, believes will help him kick goals and will impress his friends, and he can’t wait to wear them to the opening match to show what kind of footballer he really is! Questions - MKTG815- What aspects of consumer perceived value is shared between adults and children?
- Why do children perceive value differently from adults? Why does this change as children get older?
- Specifically consider the way children incorporate the monetary price in their value perceptions and how this changes as they grow older. How would these developmentally linked changes affect their vulnerability?
- What characteristic purchasing behaviour of children would suggest that curiosity value was important to them?
- Thinking about the 11-year-old boy in the example, discuss the value he perceives in the Nike football boots.
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