Overview

From Impulsive Buying to Planned Spending

Children’s impulsive buying can affect not only their immediate financial decisions but also their emotional experiences and future consumption habits. Parents play an important role in children’s consumer socialization, yet many existing financial services for children focus primarily on individual money management, with limited consideration of parent–child relationships and communication.

This research explored the underlying causes of children’s impulsive buying and designed and evaluated a parent–child service that supports planned and delayed consumption.

Research

We investigated the spending behaviors of 31 parent–child pairs (62 participants), focusing on children in Grades 2–3 and their parents’ approaches to allowances and spending guidance. Follow-up interviews with four parent–child pairs explored their spending experiences, interactions, and perceptions of planned and delayed consumption.

The research identified three interconnected factors behind children’s impulsive buying:

• Limited parent–child communication about spending → Create opportunities for meaningful conversations before purchases

• Low self-efficacy in planned and delayed consumption → Visualize goals and expected timelines to make progress tangible

• Limited positive experiences with delayed consumption → Reinforce planning and waiting through achievable goals and rewards

Design

Kkul-Sobi Plan is a two-way parent–child spending-planning service designed to help children develop healthier consumption habits while enabling parents to support the process.

Children register items they want to purchase and create their own spending plans by considering factors such as necessity, price, and personal goals. They then discuss their intentions with their parents, explain their choices, and experience the process of planning and waiting before making a purchase.

Parents are provided with educational content about child consumers as well as experiences and practical advice shared by other parents. The service also uses accumulated activity and communication records to help families reflect on children’s spending patterns and experiences together.

Evaluation

To explore the service experience and its potential effects, we developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and conducted a two-week Home Usage Test (HUT) with five parent–child pairs. Data were collected through pre- and post-test surveys, activity records, photographs, and in-depth interviews.

The results showed an improvement in children’s desirable consumption behaviors as perceived by parents, particularly in delayed consumption. However, children’s self-reported survey scores did not show a clear change.

Interviews suggested that parents developed a deeper understanding of their children’s spending behaviors and experienced more effective communication supported by previous interaction records. Children also described discovering enjoyment and confidence in the process of planning and waiting before making purchases.

Impact & Limitations

Rather than treating children’s impulsive buying solely as an issue of individual self-control, this research approached it through the lens of parent–child relationships and consumption experiences. Based on these findings, we proposed a service model that supports healthier planned and delayed consumption.

The evaluation was limited by its small sample size and short two-week intervention, making it difficult to generalize or statistically validate the service’s effects. Future research should evaluate the model with larger samples and longer-term use in everyday contexts.