Peer,parent, and media influences in teen apparel shopping

Recently developed normative versus informative interpersonal influence scales were modified and extended to explore interpersonal influences in teen apparel shopping. Three major influence sources were considered—peers, parents, and the media. Major findings indicated that teens receive significantly more parental influences during special shopping than ordinary shopping; parent- and media-informative influences exceed almost all others whereas media-normative influence is dominated by almost all other influences. These findings suggest that advertisers and marketers could avoid targeting teens with normative messages, since they are more likely to reach teens through informative messages specifically directed at their parents. Teen age, gender, family size, and gift money to teens were found to significantly affect the level and type of teen apparel shopping influences. He is also the founding Director of the Kellstadt Consumer Research Center, University of Detroit Mercy. His doctoral work has been published by Arno Publications, New York, under the titleTowards Measuring Technological Impact of Multinational Technology Transfers to Developing Countries. His recent books includeWasteland Management (Nataraj Publishers, 1982) andNew Product Development: Its Marketing Research and Development (Oxford, 1987). He has published in theJournal of Academy of Marketing Science and theJournal of Consumer Affairs, as well as various conference proceedings. His research interests are marketing ethics, marketing research philosophical orientations, and consumer behavior. Currently he is engaged in a major project related to teenage shopping behavior. She has published inInformation and Management and theJournal of Midwest Marketing, as well as various conference proceedings. Her current research interests are in the areas of consumer behavior, channel strategy, and marketing strategy. She is currently involved in research on teen shopping behavior.