Which consumer capabilities are actually triggered by children in-store?

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

This research aims at identifying the consumer decision-making capabilities that are activated by children when making a purchase decision in-store. Previous research on these capabilities used methodologies such as tests, questionnaires or interviews, never accounting for the complexities of a natural environment like the supermarket. A sample of 16 dyads parent-child was observed while making a purchase decision in the cereal aisle of two supermarkets, followed by an interview. Our results suggest that the capabilities that are triggered at the supermarket pertain to categorize and evaluate products, whereas others like brand recognition and price knowledge are not fully activated during decision-making. These findings have implications to managers and marketers, but also to parents and schools.