Even without their own credit cards, kids find a way to shop online

Even though most don’t have credit cards, children 8 to 14 are shopping online, says a new survey from Stars for Kidz, an agency that attempts to connect brands with very young consumers. The survey reports that 77% of children 8 to 14 have completed an online transaction. They are most interested in music, video games, movies, MP3 players and celebrities.

The survey reports that 27% of children have asked someone else to complete an order for them; 26% shopped online using a gift card; 23% used their parents’ credit card; 15% charged it to parents in other ways; and a surprising 8% used their own credit card.

56% of the children who shop online claimed to be helping their mothers with shopping chores.

“In this research, we saw clearly that busy moms and tech-savvy kids are joining forces as online shoppers,” says Adele Schwartz, research director. “Children who help their moms with such an array of online tasks may exert even greater influence on family consumerism than we thought, which makes the process of building brand loyalty specifically among children something that all marketers should be reconsidering."