Tween Power.

Not many 9-14 year olds work, and those that do don’t make much money, but a new report finds that “tweens” are avid consumers — and they say they influence their parents’ bigger ticket purchases, including computers.

The new “2005 Tween Report” from Nickelodeon and Youth Intelligence finds that although 9-14 year olds only receive an average of $9.15 per week in allowance or spending money, they save it and make more significant, often technology-related purchases. Depending on their parents to shell out for purchases of clothing, food, room decor and toiletries, tweens use their savings to buy entertainment, technology and fashion products. On average, the tweens spent $27 of their own money on their last shopping trip.

Tweens know what they want, and when they put in their two cents, their parents listen. The survey found that a large percentage said that their opinions count when it comes to making purchases.

Needless to say, tweens have a great deal of influence when it comes to buying the things they want or need. Nearly three out of four have “a lot of say” when it comes to “buying clothes.” Girls in particular strongly influence purchasing decisions on buying clothes, which movies to rent and see in the theater, and music CDs to buy. Boys exert their influence on parents when it comes to which TV shows to watch and video games or systems to buy.

Courtesy of http://www.eMarketer.com