Are You Spending Too Much on Back-to-School Needs?

What can you expect when you and your teen hit the stores this fall? Find out how much money the average American family spends on the new school year -- and see how your expenses compare.

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It's that time of year again. As you and your kids gear up for the new school year, are you heading for the mall, browsing online, or going to your local store? What styles are on your child's "must have" list -- sporty, preppy, hip-hop, or none of the above? How much will you and/or your teen spend?

Take a look at the 2001 American Express Retail Index on back-to-school shopping, based on a survey of more than 700 parents and teenagers ages 12-17. Their responses will give you a good idea of what to expect this year.

Here's what the parents and teens had to say:

Teen trends
Budget basics
Shopping styles
Online options
Coast-to-coast differences


TEEN TRENDS
    Where teens get back-to-school shopping money

  • One in three teens (34%) receive an allowance, and younger teens are more likely to get an allowance (41% of teens, ages 12-14 vs. 28% of teens, ages 15-17).
  • Teens across age groups consistently say they obtain money from parents when needed (80% of teens overall, 81% of teens, ages 12-14, and 78% of teens, ages 15-17).
  • Overall, 44% of teens have regular full- or part-time jobs. Close to two-thirds (60%) of teens, ages 15-17, earn money through a full- or part-time job.
  • The majority (79%) of teens, ages 12-17, occasionally earn money through odd jobs.

    Teen spending

  • The majority of teens (88%) will purchase new clothing for back-to-school this year.
  • When it comes to back-to-school wardrobes, teens will buy mostly jeans or denim pants (46%), shirts and tops (40%), accessories (24%) and sneakers or athletic shoes (24%).
  • School supplies / backpacks (20%) top the "must have" list for teens this year.
  • Other "must have" items include shoes and boots (19%), trendy sneakers (17%), tops and shirts (13%) and accessories (12%).
  • Two-thirds of girls (67%) say they spend their money on clothing compared to 42% of boys.
  • Girls outspend boys on jewelry and accessories by a more than two-to-one margin (40% vs. 18%).
  • More boys (54%) spend their money on entertainment, such as going to the movies or out with friends, compared to girls (41%).
  • Teen boys also spend money on video games (41% for boys vs. 5% for girls) and sports equipment (24% vs. 11%).

    Teen shopper profiles

  • More than a third of teens (39%) describe themselves as "trendsetters," or fashion style leaders. Even if it means going over budget, more teen girls (44%) than boys (35%) will purchase clothing that is "hot and trendy."
  • More teens (39%) will shop for bargains this year.
  • Twenty percent of teens are "destination shoppers." More teen boys (25%) will shop from a list and visit particular stores to get exactly what they want, compared to 15% of girls.

    Popular fashion styles

  • Athletic/sports: The preferred fashion style for teen boys (21%) and also popular among girls (15%).
  • Preppy: Twice as popular among girls (22% for girls vs. 11% for boys).
  • Urban/hip-hop: Another favorite for boys (18%) and girls (10%).
  • Surfer/skateboarder: Preferred among teen boys three-to-one compared to girls (18% for boys vs. 6% of girls).
  • High fashion/designer: Popular among girls (10%), but very few boys (1%).

    Factors that motivate teen fashion choices

  • The greatest motivators among teens for purchasing a specific item of clothing or apparel are comfort and fit (36%), style (33%), price (13%) and brand (10%).
  • Only a few teens admit they are motivated to buy a particular item because their friends have it (6%).
  • Among all the influences on fashion choices, personal style is by far the greatest factor.

BUDGET BASICS
  • Parents will spend an average of $426 on back-to-school shopping, up from $424 last year.
  • Teens will add, on average, another $101 to back-to-school budgets.
  • About one in three parents (30%) expect their children to contribute to the overall back-to-school budget.
  • In total, parents and teens will spend an average of $527 on clothing and other back-to-school needs this year, compared to $548 in 2000, $455 in 1999, and $408 in 1998.
  • Most parents (58%) plan to set a back-to-school budget; and the majority of parents (54%) say they will stay within budget. Most teens (67%) don't set a budget.

SHOPPING STYLES
    Shopping lists for parents

  • The vast majority of parents (90%) who plan to shop for back-to-school items will purchase clothing and school supplies. About three out of four parents (76%) will also buy sneakers; 74%, shoes; 34%, cosmetics or toiletries; and 33%, textbooks.
  • When it comes to school wardrobes, parents will buy mostly shirts and tops (62%), jeans (61%), underwear and socks (25%), sneakers (25%) and non-denim pants (21%).
  • Sixteen percent of parents will be sending their children to school in uniforms this year. The majority of these parents said school uniforms save them money on back-to-school shopping (76%) and that uniforms reduce conflicts with their children about what to buy (86%).
  • Most parents (79%) said their children don't mind wearing uniforms.

    Malls are the favorite shopping destination

  • The mall remains the most popular destination for the majority of parents (75%) and teens (89%).
  • Majorities of parents (63%) and teens (77%) prefer to shop at the mall because it offers a broad selection of stores and merchandise.
  • Parents also enjoy the benefits of a convenient location (45%), one-stop shopping that saves time (40%), entertainment venues (10%) and social aspects (4%).
  • Teens prefer the mall because of the opportunity to socialize with friends and other teens (47%), as well as for many of the same reasons cited by parents: convenient location (45%), one-stop shopping that saves time (44%) and entertainment venues (30%).
  • Half of parents (50%) and nearly half of teens (47%) will shop at stand-alone stores.
  • Fewer parents (24%) will shop at factory outlets, or via catalog (14%).
  • More teens will shop at factory outlets this year (25%), and through catalogs (18%).

    Parents and teens will shop together

  • The vast majority of parents (83%) enjoy shopping with their children and spending time together.
  • But teens disagree. Only four in ten (39%) say they enjoy shopping with their parents, although the figure rises for teen girls (45%).
  • Three out of four teens (75%) say they prefer to shop with friends rather than their parents, (78% for boys vs. 71% for girls).
  • Most parents (64%) will shop with their children, while a few (16%) say their teenage children will shop without them. A small number (15%) will shop by themselves, without their children.

    Who makes the buying decision?

  • When shopping conflicts arise, seven out of ten parents (70%) say the person who controls the budget will have the final say on what is purchased. Yet less than a third of parents (30%) say they often have conflicts with their children over back-to-school purchases.
  • Teens report conflicts with their parents about what to purchase (40%), although younger teens, ages 12-14, say they are more likely to have disagreements (49%).
  • Increasingly, teens say their parents do not have the final say on what they buy (57%), and more claim they have a greater influence on what they buy than their parents do (73%). Older teens, ages 15-17, are more likely to claim greater influence (77%).

    How consumers will pay for purchases

  • For most parents (49%), cash will be the primary payment method for back-to-school purchases, followed by personal checks (18%), credit/charge cards (15%) and debit cards (10%).
  • When teens aren't shopping with their parents, they will most often pay for their back-to-school purchases with a combination of their own cash and cash from their parents (43%), their own cash (26%) and cash from their parents (24%). Only 6% of teens will use a parent's credit card.

    Waiting until the last minute

  • Fifty-nine percent of parents and 65% of teens are planning to begin their shopping in August, making it the busiest month for back-to-school shopping.
  • Only 20% of parents will start in July, down from 26% last year.
  • Teens will start their back-to-school shopping earlier this year; 19% will start in July vs. 12% in 2000.
  • Many more parents (12% vs. 6% in 2000) and teens (10% vs. 7%) will wait until September to purchase back-to-school items this year.
  • Most parents will take several days to shop: 25% will complete their back-to-school shopping in one day, 26% in two days, 26% in three to five days, and 13% in six or more days.
  • On average, it will take parents four days to complete their back-to-school shopping this year.

ONLINE OPTIONS
  • About one in ten parents (13%) say they plan to browse or shop online this year, (up from 9% in 2000, and 3% in 1999).
  • About one in five teens (19%) will shop online for back-to-school, (up from 12% in 2000, and 4% in 1999).
  • Apparel remains the most common back-to-school Web purchase for parents (65%) and teens (77%).
  • Parents will also purchase educational software (23%), reference books (21%), school supplies (18%), music (18%), electronics such as cellular phones, email devices and MP3 players (17%) and computer hardware (15%).
  • Teens will also purchase music (30%), school supplies (25%), educational software (24%), cosmetics (20%), computer hardware (19%) and electronics (19%).

COAST-TO-COAST DIFFERENCES
    In the Northeast

  • Teens will spend an average of $165 of their own money on back-to-school shopping.
  • Teens are more likely to be "trendsetters" (51%), or fashion style leaders, than their counterparts in the West (41%), the North Central states (37%) and the South (33%).
  • Teen "must haves" are trendy sneakers (22%), shoes/boots/socks (16%), white/color jeans (14%) and accessories (12%).
  • Teens are more likely to prefer an urban/hip-hop (21%) fashion style, compared to teens in the South (15%), the West (12%) and the North Central states (10%).
  • Teens are more likely to browse or shop online for back-to-school (24%), compared to teens in the West (23%), the North Central states (19%) and the South (15%).

    In the North Central states

  • Teens will spend an average of $86 of their own money on their back-to-school shopping needs.
  • Teens are more likely to view themselves as "destination shoppers" (28%) -- they shop from a list and go to particular stores to get what they want -- than their counterparts in the South (20%), the West (20%) and the Northeast (11%).
  • Teen "must haves" are school supplies (25%), tops and shirts (17%), trendy sneakers (16%) and shoes/boots/socks (15%).
  • Top teen styles are athletic/sports (21%), preppy (20%), urban/hip-hop (10%) and surfer/skateboarder (10%).

    In the South

  • Teens will spend an average of $81 of their own money on their back-to-school shopping needs this year.
  • Teens are more likely to view themselves as "bargain hunters" (45%) than their counterparts in the West (37%), the Northeast (34%) and the North Central states (34%).
  • Teen "must haves" are shoes/boots/socks (19%), trendy sneakers (18%), school supplies (17%) and accessories (13%).
  • Top teen styles are preppy (22%), athletic/sports (17%), urban/hip-hop (15%) and high fashion/designer (6%).

    In the West

  • Teens will spend an average of $94 of their own money on their back-to-school shopping needs.
  • Teens are more likely to view themselves as "trendsetter shoppers" (41%) than their counterparts in the North Central states (37%) and the South (33%).
  • School supplies (32%) top the "must have" list for teens in the West, compared to their counterparts in the North Central states (25%), the South (17%) and the Northeast (4%). Other "must haves" include shoes/boots/socks (25%), trendy sneakers (13%) and shirts and tops (13%).
  • Top teen styles are surfer/skateboarder (27%, up from 10% in 2000), athletic/sports (16%), urban/hip-hop (12%) and preppy (8%).
From Reader's Digest
 
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