A Kids Corp guide shows the relationship and preferences of subgroups for brands, as well as the strength of the online environment in their habits and choices.
Classifying children and teenagers into just two distinct groups hides the complexity of this segment. Segmentation by age group can give brands valuable insights that allow them to create more specific and, consequently, more effective guidelines - and which can be applied over the long term, rather than just in one-off actions, such as those aimed at Children's Day.
Based on this, Kids Corp, a kidtech company specializing in the segment, has developed the guide "How to understand, classify and differentiate: children & teenagers in sub-segments". Based on the Askids database, the report provides details of how these little individuals relate to brands, as well as how much influence they exert at the moment of purchase, among other things.
The first stage of life, from zero to three years old, sees 100% of decisions made by parents, who not only control contact with brands, but are also attentive to the content consumed by their children.
According to the survey, their relationship is guided by their tastes. Pre-schoolers, who are between 4 and 6 years old, are the group in which the first tastes are being developed. This is when contact with devices increases independence with content management.
It is important to mention, according to Demian Faletschi, CEO of Kids Corp, that the main activities that children are carrying out have the digital environment as a background.
"We understand that in terms of behavior, children are consuming more content online. In recent years, linear TV is decreasing and online screens are increasing," he says.
Pre-school children have a 45% influence on subscriptions to streaming services and 50% on food and drink. In this case, the level of brand loyalty rises, as does the influence on household spending. YouTube Kids (15%), (C)TV and mobile games lead this category.
Falerschi highlights the fact that children are now receiving money at an earlier age, which means that they already have a certain amount of purchasing power and can buy items they want. This is why, as the CEO points out, brands are increasingly developing products and services aimed at this audience.
In this sense, 53% of the group of 7 to 9 year olds consulted has a strong influence on the food & beverage categories (53%). 20% already claim to have their own money and 68% say they buy items when the need arises. In addition, toys and board games continue to exert significant power, with 78% and 58% respectively. More than half (55%) spend their time playing with toys.
Online awareness
Pre-teens, those aged between 10 and 13, have well-defined characteristics. They already reject children's brands and their exposure is more influenced by friends, gamers and youtubers. They are their own advisors on the brands and products they are interested in. 82% spend their time watching YouTube videos, while 71% play video games and 53% are streaming.
Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft and Tik Tok are among some of the main platforms where children and teenagers are present today.
"On these kinds of platforms, they're not just playing, but they're socializing and learning about economics, because they have their own money there," Damien points out.
However, he warns that these platforms are not created and developed for children, although some - such as Tik Tok and Instagram - have specific guidelines for this age group.
Teenagers (those aged between 14 and 16) have online concerns such as: virtual harassment or bullying (%), privacy (54%) and data use (45%). This sub-segment also has the largest online presence, with 69% using WhatsApp as a hobby. Despite this, most of the money they spend is still offline, at 59%, compared to 41% for online purchases.
"They [children and teenagers] are aware of the risks of being online and it's important that not only the market, but people in general understand these risks, because we have a responsibility to provide them with a safer and richer online ecosystem," says the CEO of Kids Corp.
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