Parents, get out those credit cards:
...Now these big retailers are tapping into a spending spree that has blossomed into the fastest growing season in retailing for many stores. Back-to-school shopping for college students has surged past Halloween as the second biggest period on the calendar behind the Christmas holidays for chains that sell general merchandise....per capita back-to-school spending for a college freshmen soared to $1,151.68 this year, almost double the total back-to-school budget for families with K-12 children. Contrary to conventional wisdom, spending doesn't trail off among sophomores, juniors or seniors.
...Students will spend about $5.6-billion on apparel and shoes this year. About $750-million of that will be lavished on collegiate logo merchandise. At USF that ranges from a $19.95 USF lava lamp in school colors to a $9 green and gold wig to this year's new school spirit-wear that for the fist time carries a Big East Conference logo...
The other big growth area is $3.6-bilion on home furnishings that students use to deck out drab dorm rooms...Parents of a few students hire professional movers to lug in entire bedroom vanity sets from home. Many more glam up their living areas on the cheap with such items as shower curtains, wall paint and throw rugs. One Mallory Hall room looks like a Parisian street scene. Another uses animal print bedspreads and a wall mural to create a jungle look. Others are done up in the latest trendy color combinations for dorm decor - hot pink and lime or pink, brown and powder blue.
The parent quoted in the article spent over $5000 to get her college sophomore into his first apartment. I paid less than that as a down payment for my first house. $3500 for bedroom furniture? For a 19-year-old whose recreational hobbies might very well be beer pong and toga parties? Sheesh.
However, it's fun to look at the Urban Outfitters website and realize that that 1970's era kitchen table, couch, and bedroom furniture that my parents sent me off to graduate school with are now in style. At UNC, I had health insurance, a new laptop, a car that ran, and a full apartment's worth of mustard yellow and avacado green furniture - what more does a student need?
Posted by kswygert at August 29, 2005 09:35 AM