Parents feeling the pressure to buy the best presents for their children, UC marketing expert says
This time of year, more than ever, parents are feeling the pressure to make Christmas perfect for their children – and marketers know how to make parents feel guilty about not doing it right, a University of Canterbury (UC) marketing expert said today.
The last 30 or so years have been boom times for marketing at Christmas time. As Christmas becomes more about the presents people give, there is an increasing pressure to provide children with the presents people think they need, UC Associate Professor Ekant Veer said today.
His work has focused heavily on how marketers can encourage children to adopt different attitudes and behaviours.
``Christmas decorations go up in department stores earlier and earlier each year as businesses know that a festive cheer to one’s store will drive increased sales. Christmas is an excellent time to boost retail sales, and for some stores, it’s the difference between a profitable and unprofitable year.
``However, for every dollar that goes to a retailer - it’s a dollar leaving the pockets of consumers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet throughout the year.
``The reality is marketers know how to pressure parents into making purchases that the kids don’t really need. Parents feel the pressure and guilt to choose the right toys, lest their kids be the class loser. But where does this feeling come from? The pester power from kids is a weak excuse because kids aren’t born as retail junkies – they are made that way.
``Whether they feel pressure from their peers or from advertising, it does affect kids’ outlook on what they need for Christmas. There are dozens of sites dedicated to finding the ‘best’ present for your child – many at the top of these lists are actually just the highest gross profit items in the store.
``They are the fad items that come and go quickly. Very few toys are spanning generations – Barbie, Lego, board games and that’s about it. But retailers want you to buy the latest gaming console or the collectable gift or the accessory set to go with your Barbie doll.
``These are the items that will likely need replacing next year. It is a perfect business model. Parents feel guilty about not purchasing the right present. They are sucked in to purchase something that will go out of fashion at a high price – rinse and repeat for next year.’’
Professor Veer said Christmas presents change - year in, year out. They were designed to do that. Children develop a culture of entitlement and needing presents, he said. An interesting experiment was run at a kindergarten a few months back.
All the branded toys and high priced items were removed from the location. All the toys were replaced with cardboard boxes of varying sizes. ``Guess what, the kids didn’t notice. They played. They loved it’’, he said
``My top presents for Christmas that parents should give their kids include their attention, time, love, knowledge and respect. That list may not sit too well with teenagers. But Christmas is an opportunity to spend some time with kids and teach them what is really valuable: that the best things in life aren’t things.’’