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Introduction
The process of childrens socialization in the marketplace may be described as the attainment by young people of necessary knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills that will help them to function as consumers in the future. Multiple factors influence this process in completely different ways. This paper implies the critical review of peer-reviewed articles dedicated to childrens consumer socialization. According to the studys results, the formation of childrens consumer behavior starts relatively early. In addition, multiple agents, such as a family, culture, mass media, television advertising, and video games, substantively contribute to childrens commercial socialization as well.
Formation of Consumer Behavior
Considering marketing and childrens socialization, it is necessary to address the specific term of pester power that has recently become topical in the discourse related to consumer behavior. It may be defined as the childrens aptitude to influence their parents purchasing decision either by way of nagging or pestering (Gregory, et al., 2017, p. 214). In other words, with the help of certain psychological techniques, children may force their parents to buy them required products that frequently appear to be items advertised in mass media (Prakash, et al., 2016). These influencing strategies may include aggressive or emotional persuasion, crying, bargaining, politeness, and competition (Hussein, 2018). That is why, as children are involved in marketplace activity, their socialization as consumers became the target of multiple types of research that aim to identify factors that influence their customer behavior.
In general, childhood may be regarded as a considerably extended category about marketing and commerce. However, the formation of childrens consumer behavior starts relatively early. According to Gregory, et al. (2017), children who cannot hitherto read are found to be capable to identify brand symbols such as the Tony the Tiger mascot for Kelloggs Frosted Flakes and McDonalds arches (p. 216). In addition, kindergarten and school children of 7 to 12 years of age reportedly acquire considerably strong brand preferences and have more experience with the marketplace than with writing or arithmetic (Gregory, et al., 2017, p. 216). Traditionally, the majority of children are distracted in the case of choice, and their intended and expected customer behaviors differ (Mau, et al., 2016). At the same time, a successful childrens socialization as customers implies their attainment of specific skills and knowledge that traditionally include:
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Awareness of how various products may solve personal problems and needs;
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Awareness of price formation (Damay & Guichard, 2016);
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Awareness of alternative products and brands;
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Estimation of the marketplace availability and the features of various items;
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Ability to compare the features of different products and judge their utility.
The childrens ability to influence family purchase is determined by their cultural environment. According to Chaudhary (2018), the socialization agents for children can be attributed to the cognitive factors and the environmental factors (p. 2524). Cognitive factors imply gender and age, while environmental factors are family, relatives, peers, and mass media. In general, parents and mothers, in particular, are traditionally identified as an initial source of childrens consumer socialization (Gbadamosi, 2018). When children observe the consumer behavior of their parents, they copy it both consciously and unconsciously (Sharma, 2018). At the same time, other environmental factors play a highly essential role in childrens commercial socialization.
Based on the influence of culture and both cognitive and environmental factors, it is possible to identify three main categories of children as consumers quiet shoppers, loud shoppers, and noisy shoppers (Chaudhary, 2018). Quite shoppers are the most socialized children that are frequently involved in the process of the household products buying. They do not initiate this process but influence it through the use of emotional strategies. Loud shoppers influence the purchase of expensive family products, such as a mobile phone, a computer, or a car, and aim to affect their parents decision-making. Noisy shoppers traditionally create noise to initiate the buying process and want to be involved in the purchase of almost all categories of products.
Internet and Television Advertising
Consumer socialization is determined by multiple socialization agents, and one of the most significant and influencing players is television advertising. In the present day, advertisements to children increase exponentially as cable television offers a wide range of child-oriented programs (Gregory, et al., 2017). Consumer socialization is more intense and fast when childrens interaction with mass media is high (Chaudhary, 2018). At the same time, there is no general opinion and agreement between scholars concerning the impact of advertising on children. Some writers regard children as analytical consumers who are competent of protecting themselves against any probable undesirable outcomes of advertising that simultaneously offers precious product knowledge to form their appropriate behavior in the future (Gregory, et al., 2017, p. 216). In turn, their opponents think that advertising has a substantially negative impact on childrens moral values, judgments, and beliefs as children still lack the cognitive skills to protect themselves against the appealing and cunningly constructed advertising messages (Gregory, et al., 2017). At the same time, despite all controversies, children are identified by television advertisers as the attentive audience that traditionally associates products not with their features and utility but with happiness and fun.
The influence of the Internet on the formation of childrens consumer perceptions is impossible to deny. In recent years, it has formed an entirely new learning culture that allows children and adolescents to discuss, share, and learn interactively (Chaudhary, 2018). For them, the use of social media websites, such as Twitter, MySpace, or Facebook, is currently one of the most common activities (Chaudhary, 2018). The advertisement, both inappropriate and, on the contrary, targeted, that is placed on these sites inevitably attracts childrens attention as well.
Video Games
Video games and their role in the consumer socialization of children have currently attracted particular attention from researchers as well. Playing video games has certain considerable disadvantages they contribute to a sedentary lifestyle, may cause psychological addiction, and frequently promote pester power (Bassiouni & Hackley, 2016). At the same time, video games may be regarded not only as a source of entertainment. They frequently provide positive developmental outcomes as the sources of useful knowledge and help to socialize children as economically aware individuals (Bassiouni & Hackley, 2015, p. 191). According to Bassiouni and Hackley (2015), video games act as a point of access into an adult-oriented commercial world, and childrens facility with digital technology, along with the knowledge they acquired as games consumers, enabled them to take an active part in family consumer decision-making (p. 192). In addition, the consumer socialization of children with the help of video games frequently moves from the positions of pester power within their families.
Conclusion
Children are currently identified as an attentive audience that is actively involved in the marketplace due to their ability to influence their parents buying processes. That is why their socialization as consumers became the target of multiple types of research that aim to identify factors that influence their customer behavior. In general, the formation of childrens consumer behavior starts relatively early, and even kindergarten and school children reportedly acquire considerably strong brand preferences. The childrens ability to influence family purchase is determined by their cultural environment, gender, age, nurture, relatives, peers, and mass media. In recent years, Internet and television advertising has become nearly the most significant and influencing socialization agents. Childrens consumer socialization is more intense and fast when childrens interaction with mass media is high. In addition, video games help to form children as economically aware consumers as well.
References
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Bassiouni, D. H. & Hackley, C. (2016). Video games and young childrens evolving sense of identity: A qualitative study. Young Consumers, 17(2), 127-142.
Chaudhary, M. (2018). Profiling children as consumers: An Indian study. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 26(4), 2523-2539.
Damay, C., & Guichard, N. (2016). The role of price in the socialisation of children as consumers. Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English Edition), 31(1), 64-84.
Gbadamosi, A. (2018). The changing landscape of young consumer behaviour. In A. Gbadamosi (Ed.), Young consumer behaviour: A research companion. (pp. 3-24). Routledge.
Gregory, E. I., Okeke, T. C., Ezeh, G. A. (2017). The role of television advertising in influencing consumer socialization of children: A conceptual analysis. International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Research, 1(3), 214-223.
Hussein, N. H. (2018). Childrens consumer perception. In A. Gbadamosi (Ed.), Young consumer behaviour: A research companion. (pp. 25-36). Routledge.
Mau, G., Schuhen, M., Steinmann, S., & Schramm-Klein, H. (2016). How children make purchase decisions: Behaviour of the cued processors. Young Consumers, 17(2), 111-126.
Prakash, V, Premi, M., & Estatira, S. (2016). Social marketing, pester power and reverse socialization. The Marketing Review, 16(4), 433-449.
Sharma, A. (2018). Learning and consumer socialization in children. In A. Gbadamosi (Ed.), Young consumer behaviour: A research companion. (pp. 37-58). Routledge.
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