LONDON, 2016-Aug-22 — /EPR Retail News/ — British parents are turning to “tech rewards” to keep their children’s behaviour and school progress on the straight and narrow, according to a new report by Currys PC World.
New research of the nation’s parents has found that a staggering 64 percent admit to purchasing tablets, laptops and mobile phones as a reward for good behaviour and academic success, with 12 percent doing so more than five times a year. 38 percent of parents believe that using tech rewards pushes their children to do better and 26 per cent do it as they believe it makes them happy.
According to the research, more than one in ten (14 percent) have bought their child a mobile phone as a reward – while 12 percent have bought a tablet, nine percent a games console and eight percent a laptop.
Good A-level and GCSE results emerged as the top two scenarios in which parents will splash out on tech-bribes, with 43 percent of parents admitting they have used a tech “carrot” to dangle over their children to get the top grades.
Astonishingly, the average spend on a single tech reward emerged as a whopping £293 – according to the data. Those living in London spend almost twice as much as those living in the north of England – £501 compared with £252. However, despite the costs – tech bribes seem to be working for the nation’s parents’ – with 72 percent claiming electronic gifts has had a marked positive effect on their lives.
Boys emerged as the sex that responds better to bribes, with 32 percent of parents saying tech bribes work better on boys – compared to just 15 percent for girls, and dads are more likely to offer bribes than mums.
However, the Currys PC World research found that parents don’t keep the bribes simply for achieving good grades alone – they’re also rewarding children for general good behaviour, with 23 percent admitting they have splashed out on tech for their children in return for being good. 16 percent have forked out on a gadget following a successful driving test – and a further 16 percent simply for helping out with day-to-day chores.
The research also revealed tech punishments work just as well as tech bribes – with 74 percent saying taking confiscating a tablet, laptop or mobile phone was their punishment of choice. More than a fifth even take away the techy item more than five times a week with parents aged 30-44 admitting they’ve done this a lot in the past. In fact, 89 percent said taking away their tech was considerably more effective than the now defunct method of “grounding”.
Computing Commercial Director for Currys PC World, Phil Samuels, comments: “With the wealth of tech products now available and so engrained in children of today’s lives, it’s no wonder that parents are using these to incentivise them to do well. While money continues to play a role in rewarding good exam results, our research shows parents are increasingly looking for specific practical items that can help their child’s development too – such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones.”
Currys PC World has a great range of tech perfect for furthering educational development. Visit www.currys.co.uk/getstarted
Notes to editors:
The research of 1,515 parents in the UK was conducted in August 2016.
About Dixons Carphone
Dixons Carphone plc is Europe’s leading specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company, employing over 42,000 people in eleven countries.
Focused on helping customers navigate the connected world, Dixons Carphone offers a comprehensive range of electrical and mobile products, connectivity and expert after-sales services from the Geek Squad and Knowhow.
Dixons Carphone’s primary brands include Carphone Warehouse and CurrysPCWorld in the UK & Ireland, Elkjøp, Elkjøp Phonehouse, Elgiganten, Elgiganten Phonehouse, Gigantti and Lefdal in the Nordic countries, Kotsovolos in Greece, Dixons Travel in a number of UK & Ireland airports and Phone House in Spain. Our key service brands include Knowhow in the UK, Ireland and the Nordics, and Geek Squad in the UK, Ireland and Spain.
Business-to-business (B2B) services are provided through Connected World Services, PC World Business and Carphone Warehouse Business. Connected World Services aims to leverage the Group’s existing expertise, operating processes and technology to provide a range of services to businesses.
Dixons Carphone was voted ‘Retailer of the Year’ at the Retail Week Awards 2016
For further information, please contact:
Currys PC World press office: M&C Saatchi PR
curryspcworld@mcsaatchi.com
0207 544 3600
Source: Dixons Carphone