The child–parent purchase relationship: ‘pester power’, human rights and retail ethics

Abstract

This paper explores the role of the child in modern consumption in terms of rights and responsibilities, particularly focussing on the child–parent purchase relationship. Two new models of this relationship are presented that integrate elements of post-modern marketing theory and ethics thinking. The paper concludes with a survey of leading UK retailers that market to children that provides an operational context for the overall discussion and allows recommendations to be made that enhance the children's shopping experience in both a commercially viable and ethically sound fashion.