Abstract

Between the age of six and eight, children begin to actively make purchase decisions. Their abilities and competences are still developing, and because they have to keep up with the demands of the market, an area of tension arises. This area has stimulated research as well as consumer protection in the past few years. Our research project “Purchasing literacy of children“, carried out at the institute for marketing at the University of Siegen, is therefore dedicated to child development as a determinant for a competent behaviour as market participants. In order to make competent consumption decisions, children need appropriate skills as well as essential knowledge to master the whole purchasing process. Children should also be able to achieve their own objectives and needs, and they should be able to understand and reflect challenges as well as their own behaviour. The few findings, concerning the purchasing behaviour and the decision making processes of children, show that they slowly and gradually develop an understanding for important concepts with regard to purchasing behaviour. This contribution presents different approaches as to how we can support children in making competent purchasing decisions.