Cashed up youngsters keen to spend
Cashed up young adults spend four times as much money on fashion than they do on music or transport, a new report has found.
The annual report, by Melbourne-based marketing group Lifelounge, showed young people aged under 30 spend an average of $518 each month on clothing, footwear and accessories, compared to just $98 on music and $92 on transport.
The report also discovered young people in this group - which represents around four million Australians and is dubbed "the Urban Market' - spend around $45 billion on purely "hedonistic pursuits".
Lifelounge CEO Dion Appel said the report, which measures the attitudes and trends of young adults predominantly aged between 16 and 30 through video interviews, visual diaries and online surveys, found clothes were a defining indicator of the sort of people those in this group were.
"Impressions are important to young adults. The styles they adopt are a direct reflection of their identity and are used to indicate their music tastes, their group affiliations and their individuality and to differentiate them from other generations. As an extremely consFashion was also a part of young adults' quests to "get it all", he said.
"In their efforts to meet their ambitious expectations, fashion has a role in expressing what they hope to achieve. The old dress for success mantra applies, although it is not always corporate success they aim to achieve but rather success in various aspects of urban life.
"And, with the potential for triumphs and faux pas, being consistently fashionable is an achievement in itself."
Key observations identified in the report included the fact that while those in the Urban Market liked to be fashionable, they were also quite price-sensitive. It also noted apparel retailers who provided stores that could be trusted, were easily accessible and that offered an affordable range would find a loyal following with this group.
"While television, movies, magazines and runways will create aspirational benchmarks, when it comes purchasing, affordability, availability in favoured stores and the opinions of peers are what will influence the final decision."
In identifying the top 10 fashion brands among females in the Urban Market, Billabong proved most popular followed by Sportsgirl, which was second and Sass & Bide third. Rounding out the top 10 were Roxy, Target, Cue, JayJays, Lee, One Teaspoon and Supre. For males Billabong also led with Industrie placed second and Quiksilver third. The remaining brands listed in the top 10 included Nike, Adidas, Levi's, Ben Sherman, Ksubi, Diesel and Polo Ralph Lauren.