SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2005--Crafty jeans, cropped pants and shrunken jackets are among the hottest looks for students, according to the latest Shopping in America Back-to-School 2005 survey. Conducted for The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) by August Partners, the survey polled more than 4,100 parents and students on how consumers plan to spend their average $769 budget for back-to-school apparel and other seasonal purchases -- an amount up 25 percent from last year's survey.
Hottest Style
Retro-inspired, bohemian and surfer looks were selected as the most popular among students this fall. The preppy look also rated well among male students in particular, according to the Shopping in America survey.
Favorite Style
All Students Males Females
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Retro-Inspired 21.2% 29.5% 16.1%
Bohemian/Hippie 19.1% 17.5% 19.8%
Surfer 13.7% 4.9% 19.8%
Preppy 12.9% 18.6% 9.6%
Sporty/Athletic 9.2% 9.2% 8.8%
Skater 7.3% 9.8% 5.7%
Urban 6.2% 4.9% 7.1%
Glam(orous) 5.7% 3.8% 7.0%
Conservative 4.7% 1.9% 6.0%
"Adapting from some of spring's hottest trends, students have a variety of looks for back-to-school, with embellished but versatile jeans and jackets among the top picks," explained Garry Butcher, Macerich vice president of marketing and consumer research. "The average shopper will spend $769 -- breaking out to $421 on clothing and accessories, and $348 on other seasonal purchases such as school supplies and electronics, according to our survey."
Jeans & Other Fashion Trends
Crafty and embroidered jeans and jackets are popular for back-to-school, selected as the No. 1 fashion trend by female and male students, as well as parents. Shrunken/fitted jackets and cropped pants are also popular among girls and guys alike. Cowboy boots, camouflage and tie-dye ranked at the bottom for back-to-school shoppers.
Top Fashion Trends
All All Male Female
Shoppers Parents Students Shoppers Students
--------- ------- --------- --------- ---------
Crafty/Embroidered
Jeans & Jackets 24.2% 24.6% 23.9% 22.6% 24.7%
Cropped Pants 14.9% 18.3% 12.4% 8.0% 15.1%
Shrunken/Fitted
jackets 14.2% 11.4% 16.4% 14.2% 17.7%
Ribbon/Faux Fur Trim 9.1% 9.3% 8.9% 9.0% 9.0%
Multi-Tiered Ruffled
Skirts 5.7% 5.6% 5.8% 0.9% 8.9%
Skater Shoes & Shorts 5.2% 3.3% 6.7% 12.0% 3.6%
Cowboy Boots 3.7% 2.8% 4.3% 5.1% 3.8%
Camouflage 3.1% 3.0% 3.3% 4.6% 2.3%
Tie-Dye 1.6% 2.1% 1.2% 1.0% 1.1%
No Opinion 18.2% 19.7% 17.1% 22.7% 13.7%
School Uniforms
While school uniforms are on the shopping lists for a quarter of parents surveyed, only 31 percent of all respondents favor the uniform attire (57 percent are opposed to it and 12 percent are not certain/have no opinion). Overall, more parents prefer school uniforms (50 percent) than students (17 percent).
Style Over Brand
What's important to students when it comes shopping for back-to-school fashion? While close in ranking, students say style (28 percent) has more significance than brand name (20 percent). Comfort is also a key factor (16 percent), while versatility (4 percent), trendiness (4 percent) and overall quality (5 percent) are of less concern to students.
Clothing Choice Influences
All Students Males Females
--------------- -------------- -------------
Style 27.7% 27.5% 27.1%
Brand Name 20.3% 25.4% 18.2%
Comfort 16.0% 16.0% 16.2%
Price 9.2% 7.5% 10.0%
Individual Flair 8.4% 6.7% 9.3%
Overall Quality 4.9% 4.6% 5.2%
Trendiness 4.0% 2.8% 4.9%
Versatility 3.5% 2.1% 4.5%
No Opinion 5.9% 7.5% 4.6%
Fashion Sources & Influencers
"Our survey shows that students get the majority of their fashion information from TV, magazines, shopping malls and friends/co-workers," said Butcher. "When it comes to specific influences, however, many students (32 percent) say they look to 'no one,' but others rank students and celebrities as key sources for fashion."
Fashion influences
All Shoppers Parents Students
--------------- -------------- -------------
Other Students 21.8% 19.6% 23.4%
Celebrities 15.9% 15.5% 16.3%
Brothers or Sisters 12.2% 10.7% 13.3%
Parents 10.2% 16.8% 5.1%
No One 28.0% 22.6% 32.1%
Don't Know/No Opinion 12.0% 14.7% 9.8%
Separately, 70 percent of students said their fashion and buying decisions are at least sometimes influenced by reality TV shows such as "American Idol," MTV's "Real World" or "America's Top Model".
Shopping in America is a national shopper intercept survey that studies consumer-shopping trends. The back-to-school survey was conducted among 4,100 shoppers in twelve regional shopping centers geographically spread throughout the United States. Respondents included parents of school-aged children (K through college) and students (ages 10 to 25). Not all results are stated in this news release and some are rounded to the nearest whole number. Multiple responses were allowed for some questions. Total data is subject to a +/-1.5 percent margin of error. To view the complete Shopping in America results, including data on anticipated spending, top apparel and other seasonal purchase trends, as well as the Back-to-School Fashion Icon Report, visit www.shoppinginamerica.biz.
The Macerich Company is a fully integrated self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust, which focuses on the acquisition, leasing, management, development and redevelopment of regional malls throughout the United States. The Company is the sole general partner and owns an 81% ownership interest in The Macerich Partnership, L.P. Macerich now owns interests in properties totaling approximately 77 million square feet of gross leaseable area consisting primarily of interests in 76 regional malls. Additional information about The Macerich Company can be obtained from the Company's Web site at www.macerich.com.
CONTACT: Lovell Public Relations Tresa Hardt or Colleen Matthews, 972-788-4511 thardt@lovellpr.com SOURCE: The Macerich Company