What is the meaning of “price” and “being expensive” for children?

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate how young children define prices and expensiveness.Design/methodology/approach -Individual interviews were conducted. The sample was composed of 29 French children aged between five and 13 years old.Findings -The findings show that children acquire price and expensiveness concepts very early but that their definitions are multidimensional.Research limitations/implications -The method of individual interviews conducted with French children led to a limitation of the representativeness. Moreover, this research is based on data obtained by interview, therefore it is possible that some children over-rationalized their answers.Practical implications -Before working on specific concepts with children, it is useful to be sure that these terms have a meaning for this specific population. The paper allows us to understand what the concepts of price and expensiveness are for children. Future research should further extend the knowledge about the way young consumers elaborate the notion of price.Originality/value -Few empirical studies have been conducted on the elaboration of prices and expensiveness concepts among children. The first step is to understand what these concepts mean for children.

Who teaches them to consume: a study of Brazilian youngsters

“…According to Damay (2008), children observe the issue of price very early on. However, the concept of ‘expensive’ depends on one's personal judgment of the product in relation to its price.…”

“…The script was developed based on some variables addressed by the literature that have been treated as qualitative categories, such as income and degree of independent purchase behavior (McNeal and Yeh, 1990); socialization process (Moschis and Moore, 1979; Roedder‐John, 1999); socialization agents (Moschis and Churchill, 1978; Moschis and Moore, 1979; Moschis, 1985; Meyer and Anderson, 2000); consumer decision‐making (Sproles and Kendall, 1986; Roedder‐John, 1999; Kamaruddin and Mokhlis, 2003; Damay, 2008); and reaction to advertisements (Mangleburg and Bristol, 1998; Roedder‐John, 1999; Bakir et al. , 2005; Moscardelli and Linton‐Hayes, 2005).…”

The role of price in the socialisation of children as consumers

“…From the age of 5, children are able to define the notion of a price (Damay, 2008a, 2008c; Guichard and Damay, 2007), but their approaches vary. Four (non-exclusive) facets of this variable emerge, with those mentioned appearing to depend on the child’s age.…”

Young children's ability to recognize advertisements in web page designs

“…Although most children in the UK receive pocket money from about 6 years of age (Furnham, 1999(Furnham, , 2001 and have some experience of making purchases from this age, young children's concept of money and the relationship between prices and products is limited (Bonn & Webley, 2000;Damay, 2008;Gunter & Furnham, 1998). Approximately half the advertisements we showed children included a price and half did not, and we expected that, overall, advertisements with prices might be easier to identify than ones without prices.…”

“…Approximately half the advertisements we showed children included a price and half did not, and we expected that, overall, advertisements with prices might be easier to identify than ones without prices. Although most children in the UK receive pocket money from about 6 years of age (Furnham, 1999, 2001) and have some experience of making purchases from this age, young children's concept of money and the relationship between prices and products is limited (Bonn & Webley, 2000; Damay, 2008; Gunter & Furnham, 1998). It is not until about the age of 7 or 8 years that children begin to appreciate that a particular product has a specific price, but even at this age some children cannot offer a reason for the price of a product (Berti & Bombi, 1981; Leiser, Sevón, & Lévy, 1990).…”