MUMBAI: In an attempt to delve deep into the Indian kid’s market and understand their interaction with their environment, Kantar IMRB has launched its annual property KidScan.

The study draws up a holistic report on how kids consume brands - with a special focus on food, beverages and related categories. A segment on how media is consumed - with a special focus on television and emerging media also forms an integral part of the study. It also unearths the level of peer influence and its implications on the kids’ purchase & consumption, their ambitions, key drivers and barriers to choice, lifestyle, the amount of pester power they yield, parental pressure and much more. In a nutshell KidScan serves the purpose of a handbook for marketers relevant to the space.

The quantitative study combines innovative approaches utilizing both face to face and self-filling questionnaires. The findings are derived from a robust sample size of 2500 kids in the age group of 5 years- 14 years and an equal number of parents, belonging to New SEC A, B & C households, spread across 14 cities in the country.

The study also highlights the real time record of kid’s regular activities and analyzes the communication conundrum to get the brand message across. This study shows that kids act as brand consultant for categories that are targeted to them as well as for big ticket brands operating in categories like consumer electronics, automobiles, etc.

To better understand the kids’ views on the outlook for retail industry, this study shares some insights like 69% of the kids thinks it is important to wear latest fashion. It also breaks the clutter in the market which helps brands to deliver the target message across.

The study also seeks to understand the product trends of different industries. Advertising also plays a huge role to shape kids’ preferences and influence them to buy brands. 36% of the kids claim to definitely go and buy the product because they felt that the ad was nice. Same goes for the Digital and Television categories, where 62% of the kids feel that TV is not only for entertainment but also a source of information. For example, 63% of the kids watch English channels to improve their English. The study found that in Digital category, 17% of the Kids who use internet, have accounts on Facebook and they mostly use Facebook for Chatting (15%) and 55% of internet users feel internet is a close ‘buddy’.

With the ability to demonstrate how kids act as brand consultants / active agents, Kantar IMRB’s KidScan is a marketers’ minefield of information.

Key Learnings

1. Wearing Latest Fashion is Important for 69% of the Kids
2. Deciding what to wear evokes a feeling of confusion in 41% of the kids
3. 62% of the Kids feel that TV is not only for entertainment but also a source of information
4 77% of the Kids feel that it is important to save money for the future
5. 1 in 2 Kids access Internet without anyone's help
6. 4 in 10 kids watch serials even when their mother is not watching
7. 63% of the kids watch English channels to improve their English
8. Kids spend 48 minutes on an average school day and 60 minutes on a holiday using a mobile phone/tablet
9. 63% of the Kids spend their pocket money on biscuits
10. 36% of the kids claim to definitely go and buy the product because they felt that the ad was nice