The Effect of Availability, Point of Purchase Advertising, and Sampling on Children's First Independent Food Purchases

Abstract

The dramatic rise in childhood obesity has triggered great concern among parents, health providers and researchers, public policy makers and politicians. In a controlled experiment with 166 primary school children in Australia, this study investigates the effects of availability, point-of-purchase advertising and sampling on children's food preferences and their first independent food purchases. The results indicate that availability and point of purchase advertising has a significant effect on changing children's preferences. The effects of sampling, in the presence of other forms of promotion, are less clear. The implications of these findings for marketers and public-policy makers are discussed.