STORES Magazine - June 2008 - (Page T10)

K eeping tabs on teens is a tough job, but Anna D’Agrosa wouldn’t trade it. She and her team of trend spotters and researchers spend hundreds of hours each month observing and interacting with young people. In the course of a year, they interview some 3,000 young people using a variety of research tools in an effort to explore their values, aspirations, lifestyles, interests and purchase behavior. The Hot Sheet, a veritable bible for retailers who cater to this fickle demographic, is published bimonthly. In this excerpt from a recent Hot Sheet, D’Agrosa, director of consumer insights for the Zandl Group, shares insights on today’s teens, including three top trends retailers cannot afford to miss. k THE HOT SHEET ON TEENS The teen retail landscape is experiencMales Females ing a great deal of change, and priorities are shifting accordingly. Teens are making Specialty Apparel 56% 66% trade-offs based on their personal pasDepartment Stores 10 17 sions. Fashion addicts, for example, are Mass merchandiser 9 9 holding out for sales — comparison shopOff-price 7 5 ping online versus paying full price at mall stores. At the same time, gamers are Source: Hot Sheet 2007 Year End Report inclined to forgo new jeans in favor of the latest game. Newest Thing People Are Doing Overall, the area that Urban Outfitters, American Apparel and H&M. or Buying 2007 – Teens (13-17) remains strongest with teens Directionally, teens are going to the mall less Males Females is tech. While today’s econoand opting instead for online. eBay has my may be crimping their become the go-to for fashion-forward bargain Electronics 57% 58% budget, teens are not downhunters, and many teens are buying T-shirts Apparel 12 20 grading their cell phone directly from their favorite bands’ websites. Entertainment 10 8 plans; nor do they resist buyTeens, especially those who earn their own Sports/activities 7 NA ing a new iPod if the one spending money, love to shop at Wal-Mart and they have breaks. Teens Target for items like toiletries – and they tell Cars/wheels 6 5 overwhelmingly list tech us that they shop for clothes at Target Shoes 6 6 gadgets/services as the because they can “always find cute stuff.” Accessories NA 3 “Newest Thing People are Independent boutiques and thrift shops are Source: Hot Sheet 2007 Year End Report Doing or Buying,” eclipsing becoming more attractive for unique items. apparel by a great margin. TOP TRENDS IMPACTING RETAIL This tech obsession reflects their priorities and indicates Cool to be frugal. Teens are acutely aware and affectwhat excites them. ed by the downturn in the economy. We recently interThe Apple store has become an entertainment destinaviewed a teenage girl in Chicago with an afterschool retail tion for them. They love to go in the store, try out the job whose parents are both currently unemployed, leaving products – even take pictures with the built-in iSight camher and her brother as the breadwinners for the family. era and send them to friends on the store’s MacBooks. This is an extreme example, but most teens are telling us Other winners are stores whose offerings provide teens that they are strapped for cash and having difficulty findwith increased mobility and Internet access. T-Mobile’s ing jobs. new Sidekick with one-touch MySpace access fits the bill. We’ve noted that Americans, including teens, have Among mainstream teens the most popular stores are proven to be very resilient; the going is tough financially, Hollister, PacSun and Hot Topic, but among progressive, and it is suddenly cool to be frugal. Off-price and fastdirectional teens we hear more about Anthropologie, T10 STORES / JUNE 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG Usual Store for Clothes by Category — Teens (13-17) http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - June 2008

STORES Magazine - June 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Tesco Tests Carbon Labels What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story: Boom - or Bust Green Retailing Concept2Watch Online Marketing Building Traffic Water Management Branding Digital Marketing Loyalty Programs Special Report: Taking on Teens Supply Chain - Robo Crop Human Resources Supply Chain - Directory Assistance Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - June 2008

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