Observing Parent-Child Purchase-Related Interactions in a Retail Environment: Replication and Extension

• In Event: Issues of Settings and Disparities in Youth Media Research

Abstract

This study is a replication and extension of Buijzen and Valkenberg (2008). In our study, we coded purchase-related interactions of parent-child dyads in stores in the US, collected questionnaire data from them and collected questionnaire data from parents visiting stores without their children in order to assess the external validity. Overall, parents who bring children to the store are younger, with lower incomes, more likely to bring their children to the store overall and report enjoying shopping with children more than parents who do not shop with children. We also found a negative relationship between children’s age and purchase-related requests and coercive behavior. Furthermore, parent television viewing and child initiated purchase interactions were positively related and control-orientation was negatively related to child product requests. Lastly, when considered simultaneously, lower income, less parental viewing, more control orientation, and less communication orientation were all related to more extensive back-and-forth interactions about products.

Authors

• Marina Krcmar, Wake Forest U

• Matthew A. Lapierre, University of North Carolina Wilmington

• Adam Hoxie, Wake Forest U

• Jackson Colvett, Wake Forest U