They may not be able to drive or vote, but they spend $1.9 billion of their own money annually and influence another $20 billion in household spending.

Understanding and working with that influence may be a key to business success.

Canadian kids aged nine to 14 "have a seat at the decision-making table with their parents, who are seeking their input in making household purchases," says Sally Tindal, director of publicity and media relations for Corus Entertainment.

Corus's YTV conducts an annual telephone and online survey of the lifestyle and attitudes of nine- to 14-year-olds. The 2005 Tween Report revealed "a high degree of interaction and dialogue between kids and parents."

Anthony Stokan

"This is not a nag factor," Tindal says. "Parents will make the final decision, but they'll take advice from their kids when it comes to buying a computer, a DVD player, a car, a family vacation and so on."

Peter Rose, a partner with the U.S.-based marketing consulting firm Yankelovich, Inc., agrees. Yankelovich's 2005 Youth Monitor study, sponsored by Disney, examined the attitudes, values and motivations of American kids aged six to 17. The study revealed that "kids and parents today have a desire for bigger and broader discussions about all aspects of life, including shopping for goods and services."

"It is less about confrontation (the nag factor, which won't ever go away)," says Rose who is based in Los Angeles, "and more about team decision-making - open and honest discussions about brands and products, reaching a shared point of view."

Beth Thompson, a Toronto-based journalist and co-author of Kidfluence: Why Kids Today Mean Business, says that older, often time-strapped parents who are having fewer kids but with more disposable income "want to spend quality time with their kids."

"(They) need their kids' opinion on what to do and where to go. So, from an early age, we invite children to the decision-making table," she says.

The influence of pre-teens on the decision-making process has also extended outside the family and into the marketplace.

"There has always been kids' advertising (cereal and toys)," Thompson says, "but it was becoming obvious that different brands and companies were interested in listening to kids and considering them a secondary market in big categories.

"A great example is GM, who in the late '90s began inviting kids to car clinics and concept-car introductions to get their input on design and assess their overall interest. The juice-box holder in the backseat of cars isn't there for mom or dad," she says.

Cathy Wing, director of community programming for the Media Awareness Network - an Ottawa-based organization that educates parents about how to talk to kids about advertising and how to minimize its influence, suggests "we're seeing smaller family size and more affluence. Kids have more discretionary income than previous generations.

"Advertisers are bypassing the gatekeeper (parents)," Wing says. "Young people are potential adult users of brands, so advertisers are instilling brand loyalty at a younger age."

Anthony Stokan, a Toronto-based retail trend commentator and the author of Naked Consumption, uses the more pejorative term "pester power" to describe "the enormous role children play in the purchasing power of the family."

"There are considerably more two-income households than ever before," Stokan says. "Kids' lives are so programmed and orchestrated. Parents are acquiescing to children's demands based on guilt."

Stokan refers to the phenomenon of today's child consumer, who has "an extraordinary sense of entitlement because society is so consumption driven," as "kidopoly."

"Unlike adults, who can be much more rational in their decision-making, children don't have that ability to comparison shop for quality, value and so on," Stokan says. "They are considerably more obsessive in their behaviour... . They can be relentless in their pursuit of a particular commodity."

So, how can fledgling businesses prosper from kidfluence? They need to "acknowledge and accept the fact that they cannot compete with big business," Stokan says.

"To be successful in any retail or small-business category in the 21st century, you need to make a decision and a commitment to focus on providing services, products and brands that aren't readily accessible at the mass'-merchandiser level. You won't ever compete on price. You must become a 'micro-niche expert' for young teens and kids," he says.

"The world of business today is extremely polarized. You are either the biggest in your category, or a micro-niche expert, offering the most exclusive, unusual, fashion-forward and current product that young consumers are prepared to pay a premium for to be on the cutting edge," Stokan says.

Small-business success lies in "focusing on the uniqueness of what you offer," he says.

Tindal says that advertisers must undertake "a real assessment of who their audience is and what they're into, using language that is relevant to them.”

Given the advent of co-viewing - whereby parents and kids spend time watching television programming together - advertisers should focus on "dual messaging that appeals to both parents and kids."

Thompson ties small-business success to understanding that kids today "are tech savvy, they are globally aware and they have more money than their parents and grandparents... . This is the 'instant-access, participation' generation.

"They don't wait for things to happen, they make things happen," Thompson says.

"Passively waiting to see what someone gives them or shows them isn't their idea of a good time or satisfying time. They are used to being included, making decisions and acting on impulse. This is their life experience."

Rose suggests that, to thrive, businesses must look for ways to "provide kids with the information they need so that they can take it to mom and dad for team decision-making.”

They should "look for opportunities for collaboration," and not "pit kids against parents," he adds.

Rose warns that businesses should not "play parents for fools," making kids feel smart at their parents' expense. In addition, since kids are more principled and altruistic nowadays, Rose says that businesses need to "play up their pro-social efforts, but not in a way that smacks of being inauthentic or of pandering."

"Passion is what gets you noticed," Rose says. "It is of increasing importance to adults so, therefore, it's likely to have a trickledown effect to kids.

"Where kids are passionate, let them be your brand ambassadors and spread the word for you," he says.

(Anastasia MacLean can be reached at maclean@businessedge.ca)