Safety Is The Top Reason Parents Buy Cell Phones for Kids

Are your accounts targeting parents who are buying cell phones for kids? Education Week reports around 34% of kids have a smartphone by age 10 while by age 13 nearly all kids do. As parents search for the best phones for kids, your accounts must advertise to reach them. AudienceSCAN reports that around 53% of smartphone shoppers have kids ages 6–17.

What are parents’ top worries about cell phones for kids

With kids on phones an average of 4.4 hours most days, parents face a quandary. They want to reach their kids at a moment’s notice. And many parents do track their kids’ location through smartphones.

On the other hand, more schools are requiring phones to be locked up during instructional time. And parents also struggle with figuring out how to control their kids’ social media use, which is mostly happening through mobile devices. Even young kids are concerned about online privacy. They’ve experienced cyberbullying. Mobile phones bring cyberbullying to a new level, when through social media, kids post graphic false images and videos about their targets.

What parents seek in a smartphone

Parents have a lot to consider when buying cell phones for kids. Your accounts may want to promote their AI-​related features. When the industry was rapidly growing, consumers upgraded to access the latest features. But as industry experts point out, consumers are now evaluating these devices on a different set of criteria.

Phone companies have been encouraging consumers to upgrade their phones every two years. But as phones have become more expensive, the average U.S. buyer holds onto their phone for 3.8 years.

Parents want phones for children’s safety. Their initial purchase decisions are guided by:

• Price
• Battery life
• Storage

Considering the cost of insurance

Another cost concern centers on phone damage or loss. Around 30% of smartphone owners have either damaged their phones or experienced malfunctions. The most frequent issues include:

• Damaged screens 67%
• Water damage 21%
• Charging port issues 22%
• Battery problems 21%

The average repair costs now amount to around $302.

Those kinds of repair costs will catch parents’ attention. While around 33% of mobile phone purchasers buy insurance, Circana reports that 71% of parents purchase insurance for their kids’ phones.

Parents may also be concerned about mobile phone theft. Once kids have these valuable devices, they’ll look for a way to minimize avoidable expenses.

What are the benefits of new plans and kid-​friendly phones?

While carriers have long marketed the family plan as a retention tool, that strategy may be working against them. Now that industry growth has slowed, carriers are looking for new ways to position offerings. Carriers and your accounts, local retailers, are targeting young adults who may want to have their own plan and then add on internet services when they move into their own place.

And some carriers are designing smartphones with built-​in features that parents crave. In some cases, parents can manage details like “screen time, apps and settings” from their own devices. For example, more parents want the ability to increase filters and to block or limit social media use.

How to market to parents

To sell smartphones to parents of teens, remind your accounts to post reviews. 51% of this audience reads reviews and comments before they purchase a product, reports AudienceSCAN. The top media format that generates ad responses from parents of teens is streaming TV. In the past 30 days, nearly 59% of these consumers took action after seeing an ad on streaming TV. When it comes to listening to radio or podcast programming, comedy is preferred by 41% of this audience.

Your accounts must advertise on programming that attracts these audience members. Parents of teens over-​index for viewing sports, reality TV shows and daytime drama. They are also big fans of comedy shows on radio and podcast programs.

Maintaining visibility on social networks is another effective way to reach these consumers. Around 58% of parents of teens report being influenced by non-​advertising content on social videos in the last 30 days. To help your accounts understand what their competitors are doing, run a Digital Audit in AdMall and share these results. This tool shows details like top keywords and how well an advertiser's digital campaigns match with where their target audience spends time online.

Parents want the best cell phones for kids. These days, their consideration extends beyond costs. They view these devices as a tool for instant communication, to keep kids safe and to train kids on how to be responsible. But they also want controls to limit their kids’ access to the phone in general and to specific types of content. When your accounts target consumers with this messaging, their revenue will rise. 

Image by Helena Jankovičová Kováčová  on Pexels.