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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate how young children define prices and expensiveness.Design/methodology/approach -Individual interviews were conducted. The sample was composed of 29 French children aged between five and 13 years old.Findings -The findings show that children acquire price and expensiveness concepts very early but that their definitions are multidimensional.Research limitations/implications -The method of individual interviews conducted with French children led to a limitation of the representativeness. Moreover, this research is based on data obtained by interview, therefore it is possible that some children over-rationalized their answers.Practical implications -Before working on specific concepts with children, it is useful to be sure that these terms have a meaning for this specific population. The paper allows us to understand what the concepts of price and expensiveness are for children. Future research should further extend the knowledge about the way young consumers elaborate the notion of price.Originality/value -Few empirical studies have been conducted on the elaboration of prices and expensiveness concepts among children. The first step is to understand what these concepts mean for children.

Résumé Pour devenir des consommateurs, les enfants doivent peu à peu acquérir des connaissances sur l’objet des transactions (produits, marques...), sur les lieux dans lesquels s’opèrent ces transactions (les points de vente) et sur les procédures (savoir-faire en matière d’achat et de fixation des prix). Parmi les différents moyens mobilisés par les enfants, nous allons souligner le rôle du troc comme source d’apprentissage de la variable prix.

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the role played by food brands within children’s peer groups when they have a meal together. Design/methodology/approach – Sixty-four elementary-aged children participated in one of ten organized snack times (five with unbranded products, five with branded products). Based on a qualitative methodology, data collection methods comprise observations and focus groups with the children. Findings – Children mostly select the products according to their taste preference regardless of the brand name. They make individual decisions and are hardly influenced by their peers. Children use food brands as a common language to designate products, but they do not use them to convey their self-identity and enhance social integration. Research limitations/implications – This research contributes to a better understanding of the way children use food brands within peer group, and may be helpful when considering the future of children’s food marketing and tackling the issue of childhood obesity. Originality/value – Whereas prior research has mostly studied the social value allocated by children to durable goods’ brands, such as clothing and electronic items, very few previous studies have focused on food brands.

Purpose – This research aims to evaluate young consumers’ knowledge of everyday product prices. Despite a large body of research on the child as consumer, few studies examine price. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a quantitative methodology and administered questionnaires that target a sample of 224 primary school French children. Findings – The various employed measures help shed light on the pricing aspect of children’s consumption processes. In particular, the results show that although price recall is relatively weak, children become familiar with the order of price magnitudes and classify products according to their price level. Research limitations/implications – A future research could integrate that the children should be affected by internal reference price in the various tasks. Future studies could introduce other variables in the tests, such as children’s commercial experience and their experience with the stores they know. Practical implications – Firms should adapt their pricing strategies to the expectations of children, not only adults or parents, both for the products that directly pertain to them and for those they might recommend. This research offers managers additional insights into how to communicate about prices, taking into account current customer heterogeneity. Originality/value – Realized measurements reflect children’s capacities to react to the prices of mass-consumed goods and clarify whether the child is able to identify or reduce his consideration set among some alternatives of choice according to his price knowledge level.