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Gen
Y Chooses “7 For All Mankind” as Top Denim
Brand, According to RAMA Survey
Washington, DC, September
5, 2006
- More popular than ever, denim has evolved from a simple wardrobe staple to
a statement of personal style for many of today’s Gen Y shoppers. A
recent survey on how Gen Y feels about denim, conducted for the Retail
Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA) by SLANT, found that today’s
younger consumers have their own ideas about what brands are popular and
where to find them. According to the survey, 7 For All Mankind is the
top denim brand for Gen Y consumers aged 17-26. Other popular denim
brands among this group include Diesel, Levis, Lucky, and Gap.
“Through television, movies and celebrity magazines, Gen Y consumers are more
educated than ever about the hottest brands of jeans and the most popular
styles,” said RAMA Executive Director Mike Gatti. “Many of today’s Gen
Y shoppers see their favorite celebrity in a certain brand of jeans and will
head out to purchase the same pair.”
According to the survey, 41 percent of those polled typically spend more than
$100 on each denim purchase. Nearly one in three (30.9%) spend between $50
and $99, while more than a quarter (28.2%) spend less than $50 on a pair of
jeans.
When it comes to purchasing denim, women are willing to spend a little more
for their favorite brands. The majority of females (68.4%) age 17-26
typically spend between $50 and $150 on jeans, though more than one in ten
(12.5%) will spend upward of $150. Men, on the other hand, prefer to
spend less on their denim choices, with nearly half (41.3%) of those polled
typically spending less than $50 and one in four (26.1%) spending between $50
and $99.
“It is not uncommon for Gen Y to pair $150 jeans with a $15 vintage
tee," said Meredith Belloli, President of
SLANT, a Gen Y promotions agency. “It's not so much that Gen Y has a huge
disposable income, it's that they think jeans are worth the investment.”
Nearly half (41.8%) of Gen Y consumers say they head to their favorite brand-specific
retail store, such as Gap or Old Navy, to purchase jeans. Other popular
spots to scoop up the hottest in denim include department stores (29.1%),
boutiques (7.3%) and discount stores (6.4%).
Targeting
Gen Y: The Retail Challenge
Retailers are finding it challenging to capture the attention of today’s Gen
Y consumers because members of Gen Y tend to be both social and spontaneous.
For example, according to a RAMA analysis of BIGresearch’s
Simultaneous Media Usage (SIMM) database, members of Gen Y are more likely than older adults to
play team sports, go to a bar or nightclub, see a movie, visit an amusement
park, surf the internet, and socialize with friends.
They are also likely to engage in a variety of media at one time, meaning
that it can be impossible for retailers and other companies to completely get
their attention. According to the survey, 34 percent of the Gen Y’ers polled said that they are regularly watching TV
when they browse online. And with many visiting websites such as MySpace (15.9%) and IGN.com (9.6%) regularly for fun and
entertainment, both celebrities and Gen Y’s peers are influencing their
shopping decisions more than ever.
The survey found that close to all of consumers ages
17-26 regularly or occasionally either seek (89.4%) or give advice (93.5%) to
others before buying. And with 40 percent of those polled saying that word of
mouth influences their apparel purchases, retailers can find no better
marketers than the consumers themselves, a dilemma that presents both a blessing
and a curse.
Members of Gen Y use the Internet for everything from reading the news to
downloading music. One specific challenge for retailers is that three
fourths (74.4%) of these consumers spend their free time surfing the web,
while only 47.4 percent use that time to go out shopping. Of those polled, 68
percent said that they regularly or occasionally search online for clothing
(56.8% reported using Google as their primary
search engine) and one in five (20.3%) say they allow Internet advertising to
influence their apparel purchases.
“The Internet has become a major influence on young shoppers’ decisions,”
said Phil
Rist,
Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. “With Gen Y’ers
regularly surfing everything from celebrity blogs
to their favorite clothing websites, retailers have a huge window of
opportunity to reach their target consumers through the Web.”
When Gen Y’ers decide to
hit the stores, specialty stores ring in as their retail destination of
choice. For women’s clothing, one in eight (13.5%) responded that they most
often visit specialty stores when shopping for women’s clothing, followed by
discount stores (8.9%) and department stores (8.5%). The same rang true
for men’s clothing as well, with 13.4 percent of respondents saying that they
most often shopped for men’s clothing at specialty apparel stores, 11.3
percent at discount stores and 11.1 percent at department stores.
SLANT is a privately held company headquartered in Chicago. It specializes in the
development of customized and engaging promotions for Fortune 500 brands that
are targeting Generation Y consumers. It offers strategic planning, brand
development, creative and calendar development, grassroots marketing, and
interactive and experiential promotions. www.thinkslant.com
BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides
unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample
sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Simultaneous
Media Usage Survey (SIMM) monitors more than 15,000 consumers twice each
year to identify marketing opportunities in a fragmented and changing media
marketplace. www.bigresearch.com
The Retail Advertising & Marketing Association, a division
of the National Retail Federation, is a trade association of over 1500 retail
marketing and advertising executives, plus their supporting partners from the
advertising agency, media and service-provider areas. RAMA sponsors the
annual Retail Advertising Conference, the largest single gathering of retail
marketing and advertising professionals in the industry today. RAMA also
produces the RACie Awards Competition, the most
prestigious creative contest in retail. www.rama-nrf.org
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