Ypulse Research

Each summer — and well into fall — students stock up on new clothes, school supplies, electronics, and more to look good and be prepared for the upcoming academic year. This year, students were generally excited about going back to school, but expressed less enthusiasm for back-to-school shopping. Students mostly focused on getting the essentials and finding the best deals. The school shopping season is lasting longer each year, with the majority of students not purchasing items until the end of August and continuing shopping well through September. In a commercial staring contest, students know that they can get the best prices if they wait for retailers to blink first. Few students who do school shopping are finished before September begins.

Not all students are financially independent when it comes to their school shopping, but they consider themselves the primary decision makers when deciding what to buy. High schoolers usually shop with their parents, who fund the majority of purchases. High schoolers only pay for 24% of purchases. College students are more likely to shop alone, paying for 66% of their back-to-school purchases. Students spent far less than they anticipated across most categories. Prices, as well as the presence of sales, coupons, and discounts, were the biggest determinants when students decided where to shop, reflecting their concerns about keeping their spending to a minimum.

Methodology: The results of this Ypulse report are drawn from 1,342 interviews (241 high school students and 1,101 college students) conducted among members of the SurveyU panel between July 20 and August 6, 2011, and 1,300 interviews (300 high school students and 1,000 college students) conducted among members of the SurveyU panel between September 22 and September 29, 2011.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 31st, 2011 at 1:50 pm and is filed under Collegians, Shopping, Teens.

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