Discount mp3 player

Teen talk

l3 to 19 years

Forget the Baby Boomers, the Echo Boom is coming of age.

There are close to 31 million teens in the United States today; and their numbers have been growing at a rapid clip since 1992. According to Teenage Research Unlimited, the population of kids age 12 to 19 is expected to reach 35 million by 2010. At its peak, the Baby Boom totaled 33 million.

But comparing population figures is not enough. Today's teens have substantially more purchasing power than their predecessors did at their age. In 1998, U.S. teens spent close to $141 billion, and Teenage Research projects it will jump to $153 billion by the end of this year.

This age group has more expendable income than any other in history. And teens aren't just spending their own money. Kids today are increasingly influencing spending for the entire family.

"They are being called on to help out with family [purchases]," said Michael Wood, vp, Teenage Research Unlimited. "They're going to the grocery store and making not only product decisions but brand decisions as well."

Of the $141 billion teens spent in 1998, just $94 billion was their own money, according to Wood. The balance, $47 billion, was defined as family money spent by teens. Of the $153 billion teens are projected to spend in 1999, $48 billion will be familial funds.

Technology, home furnishings, grocery items, restaurant choices, entertainment and even travel decisions are widely impacted by the presence of a teen in the home. According to MarketSource Corp. Teen Marketing, teens influence $240 billion annually in household spending on these items, and 77% of teens urge their parents to buy specific brands.

Companies are having to re-examine traditional marketing plans to successfully capture this group. Sponsorship of sporting events, concerts or other youth-oriented activities create customers. Another way to score points is to provide teens with something of added value.

"Give them something they can take away with them, something that can reinforce the brand image," Wood suggested.

According to a recent study by Teenage Research Unlimited, 78% of teens said they had visited a discount merchandiser in the past 30 days. The number is significantly higher for teenage girls, 83% of whom reported visiting a discount store in the past month.

"Discount merchandisers lead all other retailers in teens' monthly visitation," according to the report. "Valued by teens for their low prices and one-stop shopping, discount retailers are shedding some of the stigma once attached to mass merchandisers."

Target has certainly led this charge. It speaks to teens with hip, youthful, creative advertising and trend-right apparel and home accessories, as well as private label programs such as a new line of cosmetics from makeup artist Sonia Kashuk. Target also produces a free, in-house magazine with stories about music, apparel and lifestyle trends.

"By specifically targeting teens with relevant advertising merchandise, age-appropriate P.O.P. materials and trendy merchandise, Target may have single-handedly made it cool for teens to shop the discount way," according to the report.

Michael Wood, vp, Teenage Research Unlimited, recently attended an in-store promotion Target co-sponsored with 17 magazine featuring a fashion show and presentations by makeup and fitness experts. "The store was packed full," Wood said. "There was a line a mile long to get in the door."

Much of teens' affection for the mass channel is actually a result of parental shopping habits, according to Robin Lanier, senior vp, industry affairs, International Mass Retail Association.

Apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch struck a chord with its own catalog/ lifestyle publication, Abercrombie & Fitch's LifeStyle, which sells for $12. It incorporates apparel from the stores with articles about trends, music and movies and offers teens guidance about what's hot.

Consumer electronics are a growing favorite for this group as product offerings and teen tastes continue to become more sophisticated. Sony has expanded its line of youth-oriented portable products, and Philips continues to crank out items in bright colors with sturdy plastic casings. Apple's iMac was a success with teens, and its iBook notebook computer was developed specifically with students in mind.

Teens today are busier than ever and beginning to use electronic organizational tools, especially teens entering college. Look for lower-priced PDAs in new shapes and colors to hit the market soon, complete with MP3 capabilities.

Pagers remain a hot property for teens. According to the Consumer Electronics Merchandisers Association, pager penetration among 13 to 19 year olds is 35%, roughly the same as the general population.

CEMA director of research Todd Thibodeaux recently spoke about technology to a group of high school students who related tales of mowing lawns for a month to buy a DVD player and working odd jobs around the house to save for a pager.

Bath and body products are hugely popular with this group. Home accessories are big, especially among older teens going off to college. Take-out food, coffee products and household supplies rank among items frequently purchased by teens. And according to a recent survey by MarketSource, 47% of teens reported buying paper towels and dishwashing liquid in the past month.

Teens are forming very strong brand loyalties early on. "Brands are coming back," said Barbara Coulon, director of trends, Youth Intelligence, a youth marketing and trend forecasting company. "[Teens] are trying to find stakes in brands that really understand them, and they are claiming these brands."

As the mainstream consumers of tomorrow, the characteristics and values of this generation will redefine most aspects of American society in much the same way the Baby Boomers did 40 years ago.

"As these technology-driven, savvy [teens] get older, they will change the way retailers and brands do their business, "Wood said.

WIRED AND WAITING

Kids are on line in huge numbers--11 million today and expected to reach 19 million by 2002. But are they actually shopping?

Not as much as one might assume, according to Mike May, digital commerce analyst, Jupiter Communications. In 2002, 13- to 18-year-olds will spend roughly $1.2 billion on line--just 2% of total sales.

Because most teens lack credit, they use the Internet mostly to comparison shop and are likely to visit three more Web sites than an adult when researching a purchase.

Marketers are already looking for ways to spur teen purchases. DoughNET.com, iCanBuy.com and RocketCash.com allow teens to virtually bank cash on line and have purchases deducted from their account.