Everyone is aware of the difficulties facing retailers in the current economic climate. Equally there has been a great deal of speculation surrounding the impact of the rise in tuition fees. However, one company is targeting students with a series of organised shopping events and it appears they are still prepared to splash the cash providing there are bargains to be snapped up.
This year, students have been hit with tuition fees of around £26,000. Despite this it has been estimated that the UK’s 2.5 million students have a combined spending power of £15 billion. Commercial property company Land Securities has successfully harnessed this potential to increase footfall and spending in its retail developments with a series of nine “student lock-ins.”
Land Securities has 17.4 million sq. ft. of retail space in its extensive portfolio. This includes 24 shopping centres and 17 retail parks. In conjunction with Total Students the company has been hosting the marketing events at which retailers offer discounts to students alongside entertainment and drinks promotions. The student nights follow an earlier campaign targeting women shoppers with the offer of makeovers and pampering.
Land Securities marketing manager for the south-west, Helen Morgan, is delighted with the results. She said; “Our experience is students do seem to have the cash to spend at these events. In Cardiff we had 22,000 students and they spent £500,000 in two-and-a-half hours. Fees are not affecting disposable income.”
Another event at a Bristol shopping centre attracted 17,500 students who spent a total of £375,000. This was an increase of 180 per cent on a similar event the previous year, suggesting that student spending has not been curbed by the prospect of leaving university with substantial loans to repay.
So what are students spending their money on at these events? According to participating retailers, branded fashion goods have proved the most popular. With some shops offering discounts of up to 20 per cent, students have been snapping up brands like Superdry, Converse and Uggs. The ‘skater girl’ look also appears to be popular on campus this year a womenswear manager at Urban Outfitters told the Guardian.
With retailers across the country struggling to attract customers into their stores it seems Land Securities has hit on an innovative solution. But as student’s bank accounts begin to dwindle later in the semester, who will they target next?
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