Youths’ Spending Power is Trending Upward Again

According to the latest edition of Trends & Tudes from Harris Interactive Youth & Education Research, young consumers are spending more than they did last year, serving as a reminder that this segment is one that marketers should bear in mind as we head toward 2011.

The focus of the November edition of Trends & Tudes was “YouthPulse 2010.” According to YouthPulse projections, consumers 8-21 years old will spend $123.5 billion in 2010, up $11 billion from last year’s $112.8 billion, which was a significant drop from $132.2 billion in 2007.

When 22-24-year-olds are taken into account, the increase in spending by these young consumers jumps by $19.5 billion in 2010 when compared with 2009.

The power of these young consumers lies well beyond their ability to purchase items. Their influence on purchases is something else to monitor. According to Harris Interactive, 45 percent of 18-24-year-olds will personally buy or influence the purchase of tickets to entertainment/sporting events in the next month. This number was 43 percent for 13-17-year-olds and 40 percent for 8-12-year-olds.

Other notable figures here included:

• 35 percent of 8-12-year-olds will buy/influence the purchase of handheld video games in the next month
• 31 percent of 8-12-year-olds will buy/influence the purchase of a video-game system in the next month
• 30 percent of 13-17-year-olds will buy/influence the purchase of a cell phone/smart phone in the next month
• 29 percent of 18-24-year-olds will buy/influence the purchase of a cell phone/smart phone in the next month
• 28 percent of 18-24-year-olds will buy/influence the purchase of a computer in the next month

Harris Interactive also highlighted the finding that youth are relying on their parents more for their spending money, as average per capita income among 8-24-year-olds from asking parents for money is $324 in 2010, up from $310 in 2009. Income from doing household chores has also risen to $191 in 2010, from $168 in 2009.

Not surprisingly, youth are “Internet gurus and technology and media experts of our time,” Harris Interactive notes. The report notes that 76 percent of 8-9-year-olds say they were on the Internet for an hour or more “yesterday,” up significantly from 61 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, 82 percent of 10-12-year-olds said the same, up from 75 percent last year, while 88 percent of 13-15-year-olds said the same, up from 82 percent in 2009.

Eighty-seven percent of 16-17-year-olds said they spent an hour or more online yesterday, up from 79 percent in 2009, but down from 89 percent in 2006. For 18-21-year-olds, the response was 89 percent, up slightly from 88 percent in 2009, but down slightly from 90 percent in 2007.

Meanwhile, 68 percent of youths spend some time on a social networking site daily, according to Harris Interactive.

An interesting section at the end of the study highlighted that getting good grades was the top concern for youths ages 8-17. However, for youths 18-24 years old, getting good grades in school and that someone close to them will get sick or die (46 percent, respectively) were fears that took a backseat to not having enough money, which got a 68 percent response.

Source:

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/HI_TrendsTudes_2010_v09_i02.pdf