Although the UK population in general is ageing, there has been a small increase over the last decades in numbers of under 16 year-olds — an increase that is entirely attributable to a growth in numbers of 5-14 year-olds.

There have been a number of far-reaching changes to family structure over the past 30 years, many of which have had strong effects on children's markets. These include the continuing trend for women to delay giving birth, leading to older parents who tend to be more financially secure, more informed about issues such as healthy eating, and more education-conscious. In addition, family sizes have been falling over the past 20 years — although this clearly has the effect of decreasing numbers within the total child population, it does mean that children within these smaller families tend to have more spent on them individually.

Although the divorce rate has stablised, a large proportion of children are still affected by divorce, leading in some cases to increased spending on children — for example, by non-resident parents indulging their offspring on access visits, and through increased opportunities for children to exert 'pester power' by playing off one parent against the other.

A high proportion of children in the 5-10 age group have mothers who are in employment — the effect of this, at least in two-parent families, can be to increase the amount of disposable income available to spend on children. It can also increase the 'guilt factor', with some parents tending to buy things for their children to make up for spending less time with them.

Key Note original research showed that just under four in ten of all adults (and nearly seven in ten of all parents with children under 16) make purchases for children in the 4-11 age group.

There is much concern — especially among parents — about the fact that children feel pressure to have the 'right' designer labels in order to fit in with their school friends. Although a high proportion also complain that children are often 'spoilt' by parents who give in to 'pester power', the same proportion agree that they really enjoy buying things for children in this age group. There is also a high level of agreement that it is more fun to buy things today for children than it was in the past.

The issue of marketing and advertising to children is a controversial one, with commercial interests often clashing with the views of parents and pressure groups. Sweden's presidency of the European Union (EU) during 2001 has also provoked action and comment on the subject. In general, Key Note's research showed that those with negative views about advertising to children tend to outnumber those with positive or neutral views — although the findings suggest that opposition to advertising in children's television breaks does not necessarily mean opposition to all advertising to children.

A number of companies now run high-profile schemes using brand sponsorship to raise money for UK schools, although this form of marketing has also attracted controversy. The marketplace for products aimed at children is becoming increasingly complicated, with cross-over marketing, brand extensions and character licensing all playing a part. According to Key Note original research, nearly six in ten of all adult purchasers of items for
4-11 year olds acknowledge the importance of character merchandising to children in this age group.

As the child population is forecast to fall for all age groups over the next 5 years, there will be a growing need for manufacturers and retailers to encourage more spending per individual child. It will be important, however, to ensure that products are not marketed in a way which suggests over-indulgence on children; the emphasis should be on quality of products and, where appropriate, their educational aspects.