Coralie Damay

What is the meaning of "price" and "being expensive" for children

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.

Social interactions as support for learning about food: the case of the French school cafeteria

Purpose – Research on consumer socialisation emphasises the role played by different agents as well as the influence of the context in which socialisation takes place. As part of the fight against obesity, this study on the nutritional learning of children seeks to focus specifically on social interactions in the standardised context of the school cafeteria in France. It aims to show how and through what social interactions children learn the rules related to food consumption to identify levers by which to promote healthy eating.Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted in a French school cafeteria among children aged seven to 11. A qualitative methodology was used. It included direct observations of children when selecting and eating their meals and open interviews. A systematic survey of the components of childrens food trays completes this work.Findings – This work demonstrated the existence of various types of rules and social interactions. Adults appear to be the guarantors of institutio...

Children’s price knowledge

Purpose – This research aims to evaluate young consumers’ knowledge of everyday product prices. Despite a large body of research on the child as consumer, few studies examine price. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a quantitative methodology and administered questionnaires that target a sample of 224 primary school French children. Findings – The various employed measures help shed light on the pricing aspect of children’s consumption processes. In particular, the results show that although price recall is relatively weak, children become familiar with the order of price magnitudes and classify products according to their price level. Research limitations/implications – A future research could integrate that the children should be affected by internal reference price in the various tasks. Future studies could introduce other variables in the tests, such as children’s commercial experience and their experience with the stores they know. Practical implications – Firms should adapt their prici...

When children confront prices: an approach based on price presentation

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine how young consumers attribute and select product prices according to their presentation (i.e. format and ending).Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire, administered to a sample of children between six and 12 years of age, reveals that childrens allocation of prices and childrens choices depend on different price formats (i.e. non‐decimal versus decimal prices and varied price endings).Findings – Children tend to prefer round prices and to choose a 0‐ending in the decimal portion of decimal prices. However, their preferences also depend on their position as either a salesperson or a buyer.Originality/value – Research into the relationship between children and price is a relatively new field. This study uses recent works as a basis and extends the field with new insights.

La place du prix dans la socialisation de l’enfant-consommateur

Cet article s’intéresse à la place du prix dans le processus de socialisation du jeune consommateur. Il propose une synthèse des connaissances relatives aux capacités et processus liés au prix nécessaires à l’enfant pour participer aux échanges marchands. Le traitement des prix y est abordé sous différents angles : celui des compétences et des savoirs de l’enfant et celui de son utilisation en tant que consommateur – actuel et futur –, acheteur et prescripteur. Il considère également le rôle conjoint du prix et des autres variables du marketing mix dans l’expérience commerciale de l’enfant. Cette synthèse conduit à suggérer dix propositions de recherche.

The role of price in the socialisation of children as consumers

This article looks at the role of price in the socialisation of young consumers. It provides an overview of current knowledge on the capacities and processes associated with price and which are necessary for children to participate in commercial exchanges. The way in which prices are processed is approached from several perspectives: the knowledge and skills of children and how they use them as consumers, both current and future, buyers and prescribers. The article also considers the joint role played by price and other marketing mix variables in the commercial experiences of children. This overview leads to 10 research propositions.

The representation of shopping in children’s books

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the representations, figures and processes of shopping/commerce in books published in France that are aimed at three to seven-year-olds. Design/methodology/approach A semiotic analysis of nearly 50 books published over the past 60 years. Findings These books reveal a broad diversity in the images of shops given to children (ranging from the traditional shop, a source of pleasure and creator of social ties, to the hypermarket/megastore, a symbol of stress and overconsumption) and the wealth of information that is given to children to help them assimilate the process of a shopping transaction. Originality/value The originality and richness of this research lies in its methodological approach. Indeed, it is perfectly aligned with a recent academic trend that calls on researchers to mobilise and compare new data collection tools to apprehend current and future consumer behaviour. Consequently this research is based on an immersion in children’s books that depict the world of commerce in one way or another.

Role of Brands When Children Share Snacks

In her campaign to prevent childhood obesity, Michelle Obama has called on food manufacturers to produce and promote healthy foods, and to use the power of brands to teach to children to adopt healthy eating behaviors.