Kids' Hot Spots

American Demographics, Dec 1, 2003 by Sandra Yin

Byline: SANDRA YIN

Where do kids like to shop?

Of the more than 57 million Americans between the ages of 8 and 21, the vast majority (75 percent) say they enjoy shopping in discount department stores, according to Harris Interactive's YouthPulse survey. And 7 in 10 (69 percent) say the same of electronics or video game stores. Close to half of respondents (47 percent) say they like shopping at apparel specialty stores, such as the Gap and J.Crew.

Not surprisingly, behind these numbers lurk definite gender preferences. Females are partial to specialty clothing stores (69 percent versus 27 percent of males) and discount department stores like Kmart and Target (83 percent versus 67 percent). They are also over three times as likely to select card/gift shops (37 percent versus 10 percent). On the flip side, males tend to favor electronics/video game stores (87 percent versus 49 percent).

As kids age, their preferences evolve as well. Males age 18 to 21 are nearly four times as likely to favor apparel specialty shops than those 8 to 12 (38 percent versus 10 percent). But the guys lose interest in shopping at discount department stores as they get older: 78 percent of males 8 to 12 enjoy shopping there compared with 57 percent of males 18 to 21. Perhaps as their spending power grows, so does the desire to shell out the big bucks and show they can afford brands that carry more social cachet.

KID CLOUT

Sixty-nine percent of 13- to 21-year-olds decide or influence where their families take their vacations.

PERCENT WHO DECIDE OR INFLUENCE PURCHASE DECISIONS ON: