Whether they admit it or not, most parents are influenced by the colours and styling. If that's the pushchair they want, then quite honestly, price doesn't matter. They just don't want to feel they've paid more than they had to!

Liz Stephenson of The Baby in Cheadle and Manchester finds there is no reluctance to finding the money for high priced pushchairs. “Bugaboo's newest in Denim is a very popular product. When you add in all the extras, they don't have much change from £900 and they're very happy to spend that. We find that our pushchair sales are very aspirational. They can be very driven by what the latest celebrity is seen pushing. This is especially true of the Bugaboo. The Quinney Buzz is a good alternative but on the other side we often get parents who want something different. The Mountain Buggy Urban, especially the recent limited edition one works here. But again, it's around £600.”

It's not only the top end customers who are spending more. “In general, consumers do appear to be trading up,” says Tracey Bamber, VP General Manager for Graco UK & Ireland, “but for Graco, the volume remains in the mass market. We monitor what real parents want through our Graco Mums forum and then turn their needs and desires into reality. The result is a range of wheeled goods that often give topend 'designer' models a run for their money!”

There's a lot of choice out there. I've counted over 40 different brands out there, with goodness knows how many models, each with a range of colours. There must be over 1000 different pushchairs out there, all competing. Yet there are more and more suppliers entering this sector. Sproggs was one new brand launched at Harrogate this year. Why, I asked Paul Roberts, did you bring yet another brand into an overcrowded market? “I believe that there is still a need for something different - our seat unit is unique and our styling stands out. And, most importantly, I believe that there is room for a supplier with a quality range who can deliver within an acceptable timescale and deliver good margins to the retailer.”

No matter what budget a parent has to spend on wheeled goods, they expect high levels of quality, innovation and safety. As Tracey Bamber says, “This demand has lead to highly featured pushchairs being available at all levels of the market - take for instance our accessibly priced models which feature innovative design elements like one-hand fold mechanisms, clocks, temperature gauges, and drop-down baskets. Product development and innovation is central to everything we do at Graco, and we constantly strive to challenge the market by making highly featured, quality models available to the masses.”

No longer can pushchair suppliers ignore the influence of the father. Products that reflect the male influence in consumer choices are readily demonstrated by the rise of the rugged three wheeler pushchairs and masculine styling such as shock absorbers and large tread tyres. According to Luisa Scachetti of Mamas & Papas, “Modern men are very pro-active in all aspects of fatherhood and now demand to have a voice in the choices women make when it comes to parenting. They are more likely to ask about the features and benefits of a product and be very influential in the choice of materials, which is such a positive change from the old days!” But modern fatherhood is not just about the archetypal 'action man'. Mamas & Papas have created a more urbane cousin to the three wheeled 03 Sport with a sophisticated wink to the Hollywood gentlemen of yore, inspired by the images of Cary Grant and David Niven found in the salons of Saville Row.

Liz Stephenson again: “We find that the fathers are having a bigger say in what wheels are purchased. After all, they know they are going to be seen pushing it! Some of our customers are very definite about what they want; others are more influenced by what we say, especially when we talk about what would be most suitable for their lifestyle.”

The Wilkinet survey has been asking Mums what they consider important. It is inevitable when faced with such a list that parents will say that safety is the most important and few parents will say 'being fashionable' is more important than 'easy to use'. But do so many parents really believe being in fashion is not important? Who are they trying to kid?