The influence of the youth on their parentsʹ purchasing decisions of high-technology products

This paper examines the influence of childrenʹs choices on parentsʹ purchasing decisions of high-technology products. Various demographic variables such as age, gender, race, family size and family type were considered to assess the significant impact of the magnitude of a childʹs influence on his/her parentʹs purchasing decisions during the ʹinitiationʹ and ʹsearch and decisionʹ phases. The study was conducted using two samples (youth and parent respondents) for each of the aforementioned phases. It was found that during the ʹinitiationʹ stage, the youth sample perceived gender and family structure to significantly affect the magnitude of influence that children wield over their parents when purchasing high-technology products. The sample from the parents group perceived gender, family structure and family type to significantly affect the magnitude of a childʹs influence in this respect. Furthermore, during the ʹsearch and decisionʹ stage, the youth sample perceived gender, race, family type, childʹs age, average age and family size to affect the magnitude of influence that children wield over their parents when purchasing high-technology products. Finally, the parent sample perceived race, income, family type, childʹs age, average age and family size to significantly affect the magnitude of a childʹs influence in this context.