What a Tween Wants ... Now:
Market Research Experts Reveal What's New
With This Important Demographic
by Erin E. Clack
April 1, 2004
A SEEMINGLY UNSTOPPABLE FORCE, THE TWEEN APPAREL MARKET TOOK A SHARP
HIT IN
2003. Though in 2002 the segment saw solid growth of around 11
percent-with
sales topping the $ 12 billion mark-it suffered a sudden reversal of
fortune
last year, declining nearly 11 percent. "What has happened is that we
are seeing
the recession finally hit the tween market," explains Marshal Cohen, NPD
Group
chief industry analyst. "Everybody felt that tweens were
recession-proof." This
decline, he says, has been accompanied by a noticeable migration of
tween
spending to the mass merchants and discounters, at the expense of
specialty and
department store retailers.
Apparel maintains its prime perch at the top of the tween totem
pole.
According to a new NPD study, in the three-month period between July and
September of last year, 90 percent of parents of tweens/tweens
themselves
reported spending money (an average of $ 100 in most cases) on clothing
items.
However, in a growing trend, when it comes to tweens spending their own
money-
rather than that of Mom and Dad--apparel is no longer necessarily the
first
purchase intended by tweens. "When it comes to the money that tweens
have at
their own disposal, clothing is starting to rapidly drop on their list
of
purchase priorities," Cohen says. Other product categories, he says, are
capturing tweens' attention, weakening their passion for fashion. "Very
shortly
we may begin to see things like electronics and entertainment surpass
clothing
in importance as far as tweens' own personal spending goes," he
predicts.
When it comes to tweens spending their own money, apparel is no
longer
necessarily the first intended purchase.
Shoes and sneakers ranked a close second to apparel, with 80 percent
of
parents reporting expenditures on footwear during the three-month
timeframe of
NPD's study. Entertainment, which came in third, also continues to be a
major
expense for this age group. Tweens spent an average of $ 69 on various
forms of
entertainment- such as going to the movies, attending sporting events
and eating
out at restaurants--during the three-month period. Books rang in at
number four,
followed by toys, DVDs and videos, accessories, and music/CDs.
Perhaps fueled by the meteoric rise in popularity of home design
television
shows like Trading Spaces, While You Were Out and Divine Design, the
category of
room decorating and furniture items has moved up the ranks considerably,
attracting the attention of more and more tweens. Parents spent an
average of $
76, over the three-month period, on room decor and accessories for their
tweenaged child. The sharp antennae of some savvy tween marketers have
already
picked up on this emerging trend. The successful mary-Kateandashley
brand, for
one, is seriously considering a foray into the furniture and room decor
accessories categories in the near future, according to Michael Stone,
corporate
evp & chairman, retail division, at The Beanstalk Group, the licensing
agency
that manages the fashion, health and beauty and lifestyle portion of the
brand.
Makeup is another major growth area within the tween market,
according to
Tina Wells, managing partner of Blue Fusion, a research and consultancy
agency
that develops proprietary market research to decode youth trends through
a
special network of over 9,000 "buzzSpotters." However, Wells points out,
"we're
not talking about hardcore make-up, but rather girl stuff like shimmer,
eye
shadow and lip gloss." NPD's Cohen has singled out educational
accessories, like
computer software and PDAs, as another category on the rise.
"Educational tools
are going to start to become a very big piece of the tween buy," he
says.
Since parents remain in the picture at this particular age, the
tween
purchasing dynamic is unique.
The unusual purchasing dynamic within the tween market makes it a
consumer
segment unlike any other. "When you consider the buying unit," says
James Chung,
principal of the market strategy and research firm Reach Advisors, "you
have a
much more educated consumer at the 7 to 12 age level than ever
before--just
given the media influences to which they are exposed and the tremendous
access
to information they have. Yet, at the same time, they are not an
autonomous
buying unit. They can't drive. They don't have their own credit cards
and
checks." Unlike their teen counterparts, who are let out on a longer
leash by
their parents, tweens are still very much under their parents' wing.
That their parents remain in the picture in a major way at this
particular
age creates a unique dichotomy; while tweens strive to emulate the older
crowd,
their parents are drawing the line in the sand on just how far they can
go.
"Kids want to be hipper and older, but they can only go so far because
their
parents are still heavily involved," says Wells. Therefore, though they
are
aspirational, they are aspirational in attainable, age-appropriate ways.
"They
won't buy a lipstick from MAC, but they'll buy a lip gloss. Or they'll
buy a
small Louis Vuitton purse, but not the luggage like their mom," she
explains.
Looking at the numbers, the majority (72 percent) of all tween
purchase
decisions are made jointly by parent and child. 19 percent of tween
purchase
decisions are made by the parent on behalf of the child. Only a mere 8
percent
of tween purchase decisions are made by the child him/herself. Not
surprisingly,
parents of tween boys are more than twice as likely to choose and
purchase
clothing for their child than are parents of tween girls. When it comes
to the
specific clothing brands chosen, tweens clearly call the shots, with a
whopping
86 percent of them influencing the brand decision. Parents, however,
still have
the final say in where the shopping is done--due much in part to the
fact that
they hold the car keys.
Though Mom and Dad pick up the tween tab (to the tune of about $ 220
per
month) in most instances, more tweens today are making a conscious
effort to
secure themselves a bit more financial independence from their parents.
In
addition to earning an allowance at home, 61 percent of tweens perform
jobs in
the neighborhood for a little extra pocket jingle- mainly babysitting,
pet care
and lawn care.
Amazingly, the tween phenomenon as we know it today did not exist
about ten
years ago. Today, however, there is nary a marketer of family products
and
services out there not paying attention to this powerful consumer
segment,
according to Jean Mojo, president & ceo of Einson Freeman, a leading
brand
promotion agency. 'A couple of years ago, our clients were a lot more
reluctant
to start splitting their marketing and advertising dollars between
targeting
moms and targeting kids, instead of single-mindedly allocating them
towards
moms," she explains. "Now, I think more and more marketers are beginning
to
realize that while, yes, parents are still laying out the dollars, these
kids
have an incredible influence on the purchasing decision." Marketers she
adds,
are also beginning to take less of a short-sighted view on things,
realizing
"the tremendous, long-term opportunities in having a child buy into
their brands
at the young age of seven or eight and keeping them in the franchise
until they
are adults with even greater spending power."
Brands remain important, but today's tweens will take a pass for the
sake of
value.
Brands remain critically important to tweens, as they seek to fit in
with
their peers. "Whereas the teen market uses style as their indicator of
fashion
acceptance, the tween market uses brands as their indicator of fashion
acceptance," says Cohen. "Most tweens don't have a lot of fashion sense,
but
they do have tremendous brand sense." Blue Fusion's Wells agrees.
"Brands are
very important to tweens, again because of this idea that they aspire to
be
older," she says. "That is why brand spin-ors like abercrombie and
Limited Too
work well, because they are brands tweens can associate with their older
teen
counterparts."
Though brands are still big, in an interesting, new development,
tweens are
beginning to demonstrate that it is not entirely a 'brands or bust'
situation.
Perhaps triggered by the fact that they are now suddenly feeling the
necessity
of pinching their pennies, tweens are more willing to pass up big name
labels
for the sake of value and economy--as long as they have one hot ticket
outfit
or, as Cohen has coined it, a 'power outfit.' "What kids are doing is
going out
and buying one expensive, must-have outfit or item--representing the
brands
everyone is wearing--and then they'll fill in the rest of their wardrobe
with
less expensive items," he explains. "So, they might splurge on a pricey
pair of
brand name jeans, and then buy a bunch of T-shirts, sweaters and other
wardrobe
pieces at value prices."
Apart from the downturn in the economy, tweens' once unshakable
devotion to
brands may be further eroded in the near future by the influence of the
consumer
behavior of the teens they emulate, according to Wells. "What's going to
happen
in the next couple of years is that, as long as teens keep trying new
things,
they're going to pave the path for their younger sisters," she says. Not
nearly
as brand loyal as their tween counterparts, she says, teens are
incredibly savvy
shoppers who know how to work the Internet to find a great deal or track
down
hard-to-find items. They are also much more willing--and able--to be
adventurous
in their shopping, such as checking out local vintage stores or cool,
new
e-commerce sites. For them, it's not so much about the brands, but about
great
style. Tweens will undoubtedly follow their example, and therein begin
to put a
stronger emphasis on the perceived style rather than brand name of an
item.
A localized trend focus and age differences within the segment make
tweens
difficult to pin down.
Another dynamic at play within the tween market is that they are
very
localized as a consumer unit. "Unlike teens, tweens cannot drive
themselves
places," says Wells. "It's usually Mom's minivan taking a group of girls
to the
mall." The trends they follow tend to be localized as well. "You could
go to one
school and Mudd jeans might be what all of the tweens are wearing. Then
you
could go 15 miles away to another school and it might be l.e.i.," Cohen
explains. "It's not a national campaign these tweens are embracing."
The tween market is also the most difficult to pin down. Product
makers and
marketers are quickly learning that they can no longer regard tweens--7
to 12
year-olds--as a single homogenous unit, a lump sum. Call them
chameleons: tweens
are perpetually changing. "Tweens are probably the most fickle
demographic out
there, because they're maturing so quickly and discovering and learning
new
things about themselves and the world every single day," Wells says.
"You can't
even group eight and nine year-olds together anymore. So much growth
takes place
each year."
"In the youth community of marketing, a year or two years makes a
huge
difference," agrees Cohen. "Therefore, I think micromarketing is
critical to
success in the tween business. To ensure a connection with the consumer,
the
messages have to be very unique and very distinct at each point along
the tween
age spectrum." While micromarketing may not always be feasible, Wells
says
marketers should at least make sure to separate grade schoolers and
middle
schoolers. "Once kids make that jump from elementary school to middle
school,
their needs, challenges and influences change dramatically," she says.
"There
are a lot of adjustments in purchasing that are made in this
transition."
Tween market reportedly on a growth slowdown
Looking ahead, Cohen warns that the steady slowdown of the tween
market
signals significant changes on the horizon. "If you extrapolate the
current
growth rate of apparel spending into 2010, you find that the tween
market is not
growing at as strong of a rate as the adult market is. And, the market
is
outputting more product than the consumer can consume," Cohen says. "So,
whereas
in the past we've seen a very strong retailer focus on the tween market
as a
growth opportunity, we're now going to start to see a shift to a focus
on the
older consumer as they demonstrate they are outspending their younger
counterparts." Cohen also predicts a heightened interest in what he has
termed
the 'pretween' consumer. "lf you're a children's retailer or marketer
and you're
focused exclusively on the children's business, the next logical
migration is
going to be younger, not older."
Copyright (C) Children's Business, Fairchild Publications, 2004.
Return to the Reach Advisors News Page
Return to the Reach Advisors Home Page