Becoming Competent Consumers: Exploring the Dynamics of the Consumer Socialization Process Between Parents and Their Adolescents

Bo Dhondt, Dieneke Van de Sompel and Liselot Hudders

Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2025, vol. 59, issue 2

Abstract: This study explores consumer socialization between parents and adolescents, aiming to provide a holistic understanding of primary, reverse, and reciprocal learning. Focus group interviews, combined with a diary study among 20 families with adolescents aged 11–16 years, demonstrate that consumer socialization is a dynamic, multidirectional process involving primary, reverse, and reciprocal socialization. Our first key conclusion advocates for a more holistic approach to consumer socialization, urging researchers to expand beyond traditional domains like product choice and brand preferences to include broader areas such as online shopping, where digital competency is crucial. Adolescents, as digital natives, contribute significantly to reverse socialization, guiding their parents through online shopping and helping them navigate digital consumption challenges. Additionally, our findings highlight the role of reciprocal socialization as a key mechanism for facilitating knowledge exchange and strengthening family bonds in consumption decisions. Our second key conclusion contrasts the formal, verbal nature of primary socialization, particularly in the online context, with the informal, observational learning processes characterizing reverse socialization. These findings not only expand the scope of consumer socialization research but also highlight the evolving nature of family dynamics in the digital era.

Date: 2025
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