Last week, Ellen Davis (@nrfellen) VP and Spokesperson at the Nation Retail Federation (NRF) published a great post on the NRF blog outlining the Top 10 back to school trends for 2010. The NRF breaks the season into two categories, “Back to College” (BTC) and “Back to School” (BTS). The good news is that BTC spending will remain flat and BTS spending will get back to 2008 levels (see charts at end of post).
Most relevant to us was Davis’ second trend, “Don’t Discount Dads.” Key findings add some nice quantitative evidence to things a lot of us had assumed:
- Dads of children in grades K-12 will spend $671 on clothing, shoes, electronics and school supplies.
- Moms, on the flip side, will spend $545, or 25% less.
Full text from Trend #2:
In retail, we’re always talking about women: how much they spend, where they shop, ways to get their attention. But when it comes to back-to-school spending this year, dads are where the money is. According to our survey, dads of children in grades K-12 will spend $671 on clothing, shoes, electronics and school supplies. (Moms, on the flip side, will spend $545, or 25% less.) That’s good news for department stores, specialty stores and online retailers, where dads are more likely to shop. What’s the reason? Could be that dads are feeling a little more confident in the economy, aren’t planning to go all over town looking for the best deal, or just have a harder time saying no to their kids than moms. Whatever the reason, an emphasis on dads this year could pay off in a big way.
Why do you think dads spend more during the back to school shopping season?
Chart: Back-to-School and Back-to-College Spending by Year, 2010
Tags:
