Age, Life phase

1
Age, Life phase ConsumptionCulture
Consumption 24.10.07

• Changing life phase changing consumption
  patterns
• Children as consumers
• Children parent interplay
• negotiating families
• Seniors a consumer segment
• Experienced vs. chronological age
• Intergenerational differences
• the case of home-made food

2
Family life cycle(Gram Therkelsen 2003)

• Young singles
• Young couples
• Full nester I
• Full nester I/II
• Full nester II
• Full nester III
• Empty nester I
• Empty nester II
• Widows/widowers
• Grown-up singles
• Sole providers
• Combined families
• Extended families

• Under 25, no children
• No children
• Children, pre-school age
• Children pre- school age
• Children school age
• Older, independent children
• No children at home, working
• Retired
• Retired
• No children
• Children at home
• Stepchildren, common children
• Nuclear family grand parents, etc.

Traditional family life cycle
Adapted to modern family patterns
3
Changing life phase changing holiday patterns

• Discuss the changes that have taken place in
  your holiday patterns as you have moved from one
  category in the family life cycle to another.
• The discussion should touch upon changes in
  relation to
• content of holiday
• chosen destinations
• time length of holiday
• influence on decisions
• satisfaction with holiday
• etc.

4
Children as consumers

• Change in perception of children
• from innocent, unknowing objects, without
  influence
• to knowledgeable, rich, influencial actors
• Demanding and critical consumers
• Three consumer roles
• direct buyers with own means
• influencers on parents purchase
• future customers
• Influencers
• Pester power
• Indirect (0-5) direct influence (6-12)

5
Children parent interplay

• Parents listen, want to please (Lindstrom 2003)
  as long as the children are happy we are happy
• Bad conscience-factor (McNeal,1999) - quality
  time
• vicarious enjoyment (Johns Gyimothy 2002)
• Children are used for reflecting their parents
  social status and identity (Martens et al. 2004)

6
The road to negotiation families
Development in perception of children
Development in family decision-making
The child as ignorant passive
Father-dominated decision-making
The child as well-informed active
Split decision-making - product specific
Negotiation families
7
Distribution of childrens parents needs on
holiday

•  
•  
• Childrens needs 0-4 years
  5-10 years 11 years -
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
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• Parents needs
•  
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(Gram Therkelsen 2003)
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Absorption
Entertainment
Educational
Active Participation
Passive Participation
Escapist
Esthetic
Children
Parents
Shared experiences
Immersion
Non-events
Parents
(Gram 2005 p.19)
9
Childrens consumption a product of social
networks (Martens et al. 2004)

• parents provide economic capital, but as
  children grow older, it may well be their social
  capital (friends, family, institutional contacts)
  that most influences their consumption
  orientationhow cultural capital is accumulated
  is not simply a process of transfer between
  parents and children, but between a host of
  social networks and institutional relationships
  (p.166)

10
Senior segment - international trends

• 50 age group is growing
• many are wealthy
• many are well-educated
• they live for longer
• many are well-established, the kids are gone
  money for experiences
• many are conscious about quality and used to
  spending money
• many have a different attitude to consumption
  than the war generation (havent experienced
  poverty, not worn-out)

11
Experienced vs. chronological age

• elderly people act much younger than their age
  would suggest (Lazer 1985)
• most rate their health as good to excellent and
  feel 10-15 years younger than they are (Hanson
  1987)
• age is not very central in defining who older
  people think they are. Younger people tend to
  have a more defined idea about what old age is
  like than older people do (Bradley Longino
  2001)

12
National differences similarities regarding DK
-
German participants
Common denominators
Hospitality
Shopping

Erholung

Seing beautiful landscapes
The Beach

Luft

Cosiness
Wide spaces
/
Nature
Danish Participants
Solitude
Activities
Longing for at more simple life
Walk through scenic old streets
High culture
History
Combining
Meeting others
Quality
Swedish participants
Good food
Going to new places
Authenticity
(Gram 2005)
13
Intergenerational differences the case of
home-made food (Moisio et al. 2004)
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Further readings

• Belch M.A., Willis L.A. (2002). Family decision
  at the turn of the century Has the changing
  structure of households impacted the family
  decision-making process? Journal of Consumer
  Behaviour. 2. 2. pp.111-124.
• Lee, C.K.C., Collins B.A. (2000). Family decision
  making and coalition patterns. European Journal
  of Marketing. 34. 9/10. pp.1181-1198.
• Lindstrom M. (2003) Brandchild. Remarkable
  insights into the minds of todays global kids
  and their relationships with brands, London and
  Sterling, Kogan Page.
• McNeal, James U. (1999) The Kids Market. Myths
  and Realities, PMP, New York
• Bradley, D. E. and C. F. Longino (2001) How
  Older People Think About Images of Aging in
  Adervising and the Media, Generations, Fall
  2001, Vol. 25, 3