They set the trend

TEENAGERS ARE trendsetters not only in the world of fashion but also in the buyer's market. They are the determining factor in household spending too. When teenagers embrace an idea, they are sure to have their own pick. Their influence thus extends beyond fashion and culture, resulting in enhancing the buying potential of parents and thus affecting the nation's economy in a big way.

Smruthi, a college student, admits that she influences her parents' purchases when they seek her counsel. Her parents, both working, acknowledge that their teenage children know more about certain products than they do; be it cosmetics, computers, stereos, or the latest brand of designer jeans.

Padmaja and Ashok, both executives, say that though they are well exposed to the market, they seek their children's opinion on most of their purchases.

Shopkeepers are delighted to see youngsters accompanying their parents. Hema and Seshadri agree that when their children accompany them on shopping trips, they often let them add some "gimmies'' to the cart.

Either the children convince them into buying something, or they grab something from the shelf without much protest from their parents.

In focus groups, teenagers reveal a variety of seemingly devious tactics to get what they want. These include sneaking items into the grocery cart or handing an item directly to the cashier, quickly bypassing their parents' eyes. Teenagers exert such a magnetic power that younger children, besides parents look up to them to identify and adopt the latest fashion.

Terence, Vikram and Badrinath agree that they view shopping as an experience rather than an errand, an event rather than a chore. What they buy should reflect what they think of themselves and how they wish others to perceive them, they add.

The act of buying can be one of independence or conformity, self- expression or socialisation.

Marketing professionals feel that teenagers affect brand sales in a very big way. They appear to be brand conscious and have no second thoughts about spending on them. The quality of ``cool'' is of paramount importance to them when they evaluate brands, though they are not sure what they mean by it.

Quality by itself may not sell a product to a teenager, but it is the fundamental criterion of a cool brand. What are the brands teenagers consider the coolest? Varun and Abhishek agree on Nike, Levi's, Pepe. The list isn't all that long. They are all perceived to be of high quality.

After quality, the most common cool qualifier is that it is ``for people my age.'' Teenagers seem to prefer things that are specifically for them, whether it's language, fashion, advertising, or brands. While teenage boys spend on apparel, shoes, food, petrol and entertainment, the girls focus on clothes and personal grooming.

The overriding motivation for a purchase is to have fun. They spend much of their savings in this pursuit.

When asked about the products they plan to buy next year, they choose consumer electronics more than any other type of product. Many of the electronic products they plan to buy are more sophisticated versions of what they already own.

Parents do know it is duplication or sometimes a multiplication of what they already possess: yet most mothers say they want to please their children and make them happy with their purchases. That way, teenage children are more influential than they realise.

Many times, most mothers already know what their kids want and go ahead with their purchase for two reasons. First, mothers are almost always nice and want their children to be happy.

Second, they don't want to see their purchases go waste. Without so much as a ``Gimme,'' mothers often buy the brand their teenage son or daughter has chosen.

Even their simple request, says Vimala, mother of two teenage girls, is obeyed like a command.

No doubt, teenagers are considered to be a force to reckon with. They are a sure and powerful consumer segment and a marketing opportunity too profitable to ignore.

PADMAVATHI SRINIVASAN

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