CHILD AS A CONSUMER: PERSPECTIVE FROM LAW AND BEHAVIOUR

This article is written by “Ritika Sharma” from “Ansal University”. This article is curated by Himanshu Raj of Chanakya National Law University, Patna.

INTRODUCTION

Children’s consumer behavior may be a field that has lately been given attention by marketing, psychology, sociology, and pedagogy. The rationale is that understanding that child is a crucial part that has an influence on family’s shopping. At the same time, there’s concern about the abuse of natural child naivety and truthfulness. That’s why experts turn their focus on knowledge about child cognitive development. It’s possible to easily accept protective measures to make sure the safety of child consumer only we all know how consumer develops.

The promotion of interests, health and safety of European consumers was written into the 1992 EU Treaty. The foremost recent embodiment of this was the 2012 Consumer Agenda.

The European Consumer Agenda has several objectives:

• Promoting consumer safety through the 2013 Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package, and particularly through enhanced product identification and traceability, measures reinforcing safety within the natural phenomenon and thus the new rules on the safety of cosmetic products introduced in mid-2013;
• Enhancing knowledge of consumer rights: interactive tools, just like the buyer Classroom, are developed to inform and educate consumers and help them to completely participate within the only market;
• Strengthening the enforcement of consumer rules through coordinated action against breaches of EU consumer law within the sort of checks of websites (sweeps) by networks of national consumer protection authorities; and easy , fast and low-cost out-of-court procedures for consumers to hunt redress available as a results of the Directive on alternative dispute resolution (2013) and thus the Regulation on online dispute resolution (2013);
• Integrating consumer interests into key sectoral policies through new legislation in sectors like telecommunications, digital technologies, energy, transport and food, and new measures to increase transparency and access to retail financial services and to form it easier for account holders to modify bank accounts.

CHILD CONSUMERISM

The marketplace for children’s products and food is gigantic. Parents on the one hand have a tough time raising children the way they have to, while on the other hand, children are being increasingly influenced by commercialism that always goes against what parents attempt to do. Children wield enormous purchasing power, both directly and indirectly (indirectly within the sense that they are able to persuade and influence parents on what to buy). The marketing and media communicator’s interest in child consumers has been increasing recently. The thought of selling to young consumers isn’t new but the ways of integrating children into the marketing place are.

Marketing includes not only the merchandise, its price, and point of sale but also the promotion and package design. According to Young, most people don’t differentiate between advertising, marketing, and promotional activity. Marketers began to remember the increasing children’s power of persuasion on their parents’ buying behavior. Advertisement, promotional offers, peer pressure, and such other influences prejudice children. 

Cradle-to-grave marketing is therefore highly spread because marketers are aware that the earlier the child is “caught into their nest,” the sooner they start to spice up their future loyal customer. This strategy proved to be cheaper than the strategy of building a loyal customer within adulthood or within the senior age. During this context, marketers often use knowledge of cognitive and social development of children and thus the communication strategies are adapted to this knowledge. One more reason why it is necessary to look at the kid consumer is that the undeniable fact that while the marketing develops, the customer also develops. Communication channels that were valid in the past are becoming outdated and not addressing consumers. Society-wide development contributed greatly to this situation. The event includes globalization, open market, 24/7 online service, growth of social sites, new communication technologies that enable personalized marketing approach, and lots of more.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2019

To modernize the law concerning consumer protection and to enlarge the scope of the prevailing law and make it simpler and purposeful, the consumer Protection Act 2019 has replaced the old Consumer Protection Act, 1986. With the arrival of E-commerce, the consumers and brand owners are working to safeguard their interest during this new world which is susceptible to widespread distribution of counterfeit and infringing products taking cover under the anonymity of online transactions.

But the consumer protection act, 2019 also doesn’t define or discuss child consumers and their rights. During this respect, there is a requirement for revision of consumer protection laws from a child perspective and child consumer choice. It’s impossible to look at the kid consumer through the lenses of adult consumer behavior, because the kid has specific needs, requirements, values, and attitudes. Similarly, the characterization of consumer behavior of kids and youngsters should reflect this day, meaning the time where these individuals grow old and by which they’re formed. It’s known that each generation has its own unique collection of values which they’re shaped by the cultural and political environment where they grow old and which is then reflected in their values, attitudes, and opinions. There’s a requirement for inclusion of child consumers as a separate segment under sec2 (7) in chapter 1 concerning consumer in consumer protection act 2019. Definition of child consumer, rights of child consumers need to be incorporated. The regulatory intervention of consumer law is important for ensuring informed choice, which should find a place within the consumer protection act 2019.

CONCLUSION

The market for children items and food is tremendous. Guardians from one perspective make some hard memories bringing up children the manner in which they need to, while then again, kids are by and large progressively impacted by corporate greed that regularly conflicts with what guardians are attempting to do.

Indeed, even in industrialized social orders, where governments and campaigners battle for better children publicizing norms and guidelines, or improved food quality, industry retaliates leaning toward self-guideline (which seldom occurs, or is deliberately frail), and contending that it is singular decisions and guardians that are the issue.