In what can be described as one of the most challenging back to school shopping seasons in recent memory, most retailers attempted to ride the promotional train to victory where sales would bump up, but margins would take a beating. This played out pretty much as expected. However, based on the latest findings from the Youth Trends Shopper Insights panel, the clear cut winner didn't have a massive promotional offering at all, which is seemingly counterintuitive, but nonetheless effective as they took the prize in terms of new store traffic, average purchase price and repeat purchases over the period covering mid July through mid September. The retail winner for Back to School '09 is none other than The Buckle.
Measuring the intangibles via the Shopper Insights panel helps paint part of the picture. These perceptions and attitudes include items like “the store that best meets my fashion needs,” “the store that is the coolest or trendiest” and even “the store I wish I could shop at more often,” among others. These qualitative-like data points speak to popularity, buzz and aspiration above and beyond general performance metrics like store traffic, average purchase price, retailer loyalty, and purchase intent. As far as Back To School ’09 goes, The Buckle seems to have both the tangibles and intangibles going for it.
On a year over year basis, it’s the top gainer for a variety of retail perceptions. The key takeaway is that they offer the styles and brands the youth market is most interested in right now. That in itself is commendable. What’s more, The Buckle is at the top of the list or near top of the list for most of the tangible measures like increase in store traffic (sequential and year over year), average purchase price, and another key data point that in our minds definitely does not get the attention it warrants: e-commerce purchases. It’s important to note that more than half of all teens and college students purchase clothing, accessories or footwear online during a typical six-month period. Online shopping also opens up the relatively small retail foot print of The Buckle to young people nationally. It’s generally accepted at this point that what’s fashionable among 17 year-olds in suburban Chicago is also fashionable to 17 year-olds in Charlotte, NC. Teen and young adult fashion trends are far more ubiquitous than given credit for.
Lest you think those $90 and $100 Ed Hardy and Affliction t’s and hoodies aren’t all the rage right now with the young adult market, we respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree. The Buckle is the Back To School winner for 2009 and in all likelihood, the specialty clothing retailer winner for Holiday ’09 as well, but more to come on that a bit later.
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