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Viewing report
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Marketing to Children 4-11 Market Assessment 2003
Key Note Publications Ltd, March 2003
There were over six million 4 to 11 year-olds in the UK in 2001, representing around 10% of the total population. There have been many changes in children's markets over the past 30 years, influenced by a number of factors, including changes in lifestyle, marketing and advertising. Changes in society generally, and particularly in family structures, have also had a strong influence. This has included the trend towards older parents (who tend to have higher disposable incomes) and smaller family sizes (which increases spend per child).
The proportion of mothers of young children who go out to work has been growing steadily. The effect of this - at least in the case of two-parent families - is to increase the amount of disposable income available to spend on children. It can also increase the 'guilt factor', with some parents tending to buy things for their children to make up for spending less time with them they may also spend more on treats, such as meals and outings, in an effort to procure quality time with their offspring.
Although most of the value within children's markets comes from money spent by parents, it is worth remembering that children are also important consumers in their own right. However, there does seem to be a trend away from children being given pocket money - at least in a formal sense - from their parents or other adults.
Our specially commissioned research showed that more than half of all adults buy for children in the 4 to 11 age group with just over one in five buying for their own children, nearly three in ten buying for children who are related to them, but are not their own children, and one in ten buying for 4 to 11 year-olds who are not related to them.
The findings suggest that those who buy things for children are very aware of the commercial pressures that are present within children's marketing. A very high proportion say they are aware of the importance of character licensing in making products appeal to children, and almost as many feel that children are under too much pressure to have items with the right labels so that they fit in at school. Many respondents think that children are often spoilt by parents who give in to pester power, and there is also a certain amount of pessimism about children's diets.
Adults generally admire young children's grasp of technology, and nearly half say they really enjoy buying things for children aged 4 to 11.
On the whole, respondents were more likely to express views that were opposed to advertising to children than to approve of it. However, there is some evidence from the research that today's purchasers for children are more relaxed about advertising to children than those who took part in a similar survey 2 years ago.
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