A Look @ Future ‘Main Street’ Consumers.

A recent study funded by the NACS Foundation, the research and education arm of the National Association of College Stores (NACS), offers an interesting glimpse into 18-22 year olds’ shopping habits. Student Watch 2002 provides retail executives with critical planning information by examining how college students shop, what they buy and how much they spend.

The study reveals that future “Main Street” consumers will be convenience-oriented and price conscious, and will expect not only a good variety of products but pleasant interactions with employees in retail establishments. Brand names and the ability to order special items hold particular appeal for male students; females are more discriminating about speed during check out and the store’s projection of a fun shopping environment.

While both sexes report visiting supermarkets more often than other retail establishments, females students appear to the greater bargain hunters and shop with more frequency at discount stores, department stores or drug stores. In contrast, men are notably more likely to shop online than women, out shopping women 77% to 69%.

Not surprisingly, the number of student buyers online has now risen to 72% and the vast majority of students (83.5%) claim to be either “extremely happy” or “somewhat satisfied” with their last online purchase, although the percentage has dropped since 2000 when 90% of students reported satisfactory experiences online. Students that have not yet embraced online shopping expressed a lack of need or desire (40%), security concerns (35%), or lack of a credit card needed to make a purchase (23%) as the primary obstacles to online purchases.

On average, students make purchases 57% of the time they go shopping, visiting college stores as often as they visit large discount stores like Wal-Mart or Target. About half of college students (51.5%) pay for things they buy at the college store with a card (credit or debit) while the other half (48.5%) pay with cash or check. However, in general, cash is still king and is used most frequently by 40% of students. Those who use credit cards primarily use Visa (42%) and MasterCard (23%).

“Retailers, marketing experts and others have historically tracked college students’ purchasing behaviors because of their ability to influence and even predict mainstream consumer values,” said Scott Giesler, executive director of the NACS Foundation. “Students often form habits in college that lay the groundwork for life-long purchasing behaviors. Quality research on their shopping preferences can provide a good indication of where the general population’s shopping habits are headed.”

Conducted on 19 campuses and using data gathered from 2,368 students, the Student Watch(TM) data has a +/- 2% margin of error. The new study is the tenth in a series of actionable research reports the NACS Foundation has funded to enable college store managers to make informed business decisions and is available for purchase.