According to US Kids’ Share of Wallet, the most recent report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, the single category receiving the greatest portion of every discretionary dollar spent by an american mom on her child is apparel at 23%, while almost half of every dollar (48%) goes into entertainment related categories such as toys & board games, leisure activities, books, music, movies, video games, consumer electronics, subscriptions and events/concerts. Despite growing public concerns surrounding childhood obesity, the report finds that fast food and beverages captures 12% of moms’ total discretionary spending on their kids.

The report, a first from NPD that looks closely at how and where moms spend their discretionary dollars on their children, provides manufacturers and retailers of kids’ products with an in-depth understanding of these factors as well as those controlling product purchases and how much influence kids have on what is spent. It looks at the factors that drive product purchases and the influence kids have on the purchases made on their behalf, while also delving into factors that influence purchase decisions, such as price, brand, television advertising, and promotions.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the household income that’s the main driver of moms’ spending, but the age of the child that has more influence of how spending is allocated and how much is spent. Moms who only have kids older than 5 years of age spend approximately 35% more than moms with younger kids. The age of the child also has a strong influence on the categories of products capturing the greatest portion of total spending. Interestingly, gender does not impact the average amount spent by category, with two exceptions: moms of girls spend more on apparel while moms of boys spend more on video games.

“Monitoring how and where parents spend money on behalf of their kids is critical information for anyone involved in the youth market,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “There are a lot of product categories competing for a fixed amount of discretionary spending, and understanding the factors that drive purchases has profound implications for product development, marketing, promotions, and licensing for all youth-oriented products and services.”

The report also looks at the factors impacting purchase decisions. Six out of 10 moms (59%) report that their kids have a strong influence on the purchases they make for them. Surprisingly, the category least impacted by kids’ influence is apparel while video games purchases are most impacted. Television advertising has the biggest impact on entertainment-related purchases such as toys and video games. Brand name influences consumer electronics and footwear decisions, but is not a major factor for the other categories. One factor that is important to purchasing decisio

Methodology
Kids’ Share of Wallet is based on an online survey sent to members of NPD’s online panel. The study targeted american moms who have a child age 14 years old and under in the household. Mothers with more than one child in this age range were asked to answer the survey as it relates to the youngest child. The study is based on 1,437 completed surveys and was fielded from February 21, 2008, to March 5, 2008.