Who is willing to pay more for a household product?
The person who does the most work related to the product values it more. In a 2023 field experiment in Ethiopia, wives—who typically cook and collect fuelwood—were willing to pay 57% more than husbands for improved cookstoves that save fuel, time, and reduce indoor air pollution [1]. When wives made the purchase decision alone using income they earned themselves, they were willing to pay 67% more than husbands who decided alone [1]. This shows that the wife's opinion would dramatically change the outcome if she had sole decision-making power.
What happens when couples decide together?
When couples made the stove purchase decision jointly, their willingness to pay was nearly identical to the husband's alone, not the wife's [1]. This means the husband's opinion dominated the joint decision, effectively canceling out the wife's higher valuation. The result was that the couple bought a cheaper, less effective stove than the wife would have chosen on her own. This pattern held even though the stove directly benefited the wife's daily labor.
How much do children change household purchase decisions?
Children influence purchases, but mostly for small, child-oriented items, not major household appliances. Across studies from Oman, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka, children use bargaining, persuasion, emotional appeals, and even aggressive strategies to get what they want [2][3][4][5]. However, their influence is strongest on food, snacks, clothes, shoes, and toys—not on big-ticket items like stoves or furniture [4][5]. Parents in a 2020 South African study reported that children's requests were most often granted for food and snacks, clothes and shoes, and grocery items [4]. A 2022 Sri Lankan study found children's preferences were given priority mainly for sweets, toys, stationery, and instant products [5]. For major household purchases, children's opinions appear to have little direct effect.
About These Sources
This answer is built on 5 peer-reviewed studies — published from 2020 to 2025, 2 from 2024 or later, 2 in Q1–Q2 journals — selected as the most relevant from 5 studies that passed quality screening, drawn from 42 papers retrieved from a database of over 500 million.
Sources used in this answer
Decision-making within the household: The role of division of labor and differences in preferences
In a field experiment with actual stove purchases, wives were willing to pay 57% more than husbands and 39% more than couples; when wives decided alone using their own income, they paid 67% more than husbands deciding alone. Joint decisions mirrored the husband's preferences, not the wife's.
Children as consumers: influence strategies and decision-making roles in Arab households
A 2025 survey of 160 parent-child pairs in Oman found children use bargaining, persuasion, emotional, and aggressive strategies to influence family purchases, with children perceiving their influence as greater than parents acknowledge, especially in search, evaluation, and final buying stages.
Kids Influence Their Parental Decision Making in Purchasing Fast Foods
A qualitative study in Pakistan found children influence parental decisions to buy fast food despite parents' awareness of health risks, with time constraints and advertising shaping parental responses.
The effect of family communication structure on children’s influence strategies and parental responses in a purchasing context.
A 2020 survey of 165 parents (covering 300 children) in South Africa found children use low levels of persuasive and emotional pestering; parents most often agree to requests for food, snacks, clothes, shoes, and groceries, especially in families with a consensual communication style.
A Study of Children’s Influence in Family Purchasing Decisions: Parents’ Perspective
A 2022 qualitative study of 20 parents in Sri Lanka found children use negotiation tactics (exchange, coalition, inspirational appeal, consultation) to persuade parents, with influence varying by child's age, gender, family income, and structure; children's preferences are prioritized for sweets, toys, stationery, and instant products.