STUDENT LIFESTYLE REPORT 2020

WIN
DO
WS
OF

LE A
OP

AS
PO

ST
RTU

I
RES
N
ITY

’T N
CA
Y WE
WH
 MOST
IN-DEPTH
METHODOLOGY:
For this year’s lifestyle report, we surveyed students
from first year all the way to final year, to ensure we have
a complete picture of their lifestyles and interests.
Three surveys were sent to students at the beginning
STUDENT
of their first year of uni or college – one for retail, one for
tech and entertainment, and one for travel and transport.
In total, 8,150 first year students completed these surveys.
We also surveyed 11,146 second and third years, and
3,156 final year students – making this one of the most
insightful surveys into the lifestyle of students
ever completed.
LIFESTYLE
Before we start our calculations, we adjust for imbalances
in response rates across applicant groups, and weight
responses up to the full applicant pool.
REPORT IN
T:
E:
01242 544 881
ucasmedia@ucas.ac.uk
ucasmedia.com
THE UK
01 / 45
It’s all about
the money,
money, money.
Rather than build this into a great reveal we’ll get to the punchline right away,
students spend a lot of money. They spend on shopping, socialising, holidays,
eating in [or out], just about anything that allows them to part with money from
Cornwall to Carlisle. Is it the power of a well-oiled marketing machine, or the fact
that this group of undergraduate students are Generation Z? That they have
never known a time without mobile technology? Or that being ‘just a click
away’ is second nature to them?
So, are today’s students guilty of being uncontrollable impulse purchasers or
thoughtful savvy shoppers? Let’s find out. This first chapter in the UCAS Media
2020 student lifestyle report series, delves into the world of how much cash students
are willing to splash in the run-up to uni, the big freshers’ week blow-out, and settling
down into typical routines. Our report aims to help retailers better understand this
group as consumers, offer guidance on how to harness their spending power,
and deliver some revealing facts along the way!
03 / 45
Contents
Pre-uni spend
AVERAGE STUDENT SPEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06-07
WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08-09
PRE-UNI SPEND CYCLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11
IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13
LET’S CELEBRATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15
AN APPLE A DAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17
FUNCTION VS FASHION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19
Missed opportunities
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-23
ON YOUR BIKE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25
Graduate celebration
TOP TEN ITEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27
ROLLING INTO A NEW DECADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29
In-uni spend
FRESHERS’ WEEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31
A TYPICAL WEEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33
SPENDING CHANGE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-35
THE BIG SHOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-37
LOVING THE SALES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-41
UCAS Media
GETTING YOUR SLICE OF THE £15BN PIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-43
JOIN US AT YMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-45
05 / 45
 WHAT MAKES UP THIS SPEND...
FIRST YEAR
STUDENTS, 80% 73% 68%
ON AVERAGE SPENT
£2,077
STATIONERY CLOTHES/SHOES BOOKS/STUDY MATERIALS
61% 61% 55%
ON ITEMS BEFORE
STARTING UNI. KITCHENWARE HOMEWARE HEALTH & BEAUTY PRODUCTS
45% 14% 5%
TRAVEL CARDS (E.G. RAILCARDS) PRINTERS TV
Let’s get 4% 4%
stuck in... Interesting fact
CAR BIKE
Around 20,000
students bought
a car for uni!
07 / 45
£1,154,000,000
F
TOTAL PRE-UNI SPEND
S O NITY
DOW RTU
WIN PPO
O
First year university students are, at least to begin with, armed with two
of retail’s favourite things. A long shopping list, and the cash to fulfil it.
This is before they get their loans, before they arrive at university, and
for many of them before they have their results. They might not know
whether they’re into Birmingham or Bristol yet, but will that make a
difference to whether they need a laptop or not?
Spending more than £2,000 each on preparing for their studies, first
year students are consistently one of the big spending groups of Gen
Z’s summer shoppers. While their non-university counterparts might be
splashing out on holidays or cars, by the time the third week of August
rolls around, 79% of students have started identifying their big buys in
fashion, books, stationery, and kitchen/homeware.
More than 50% of them have already bought them.
With Scottish Qualifications Authority results day and A level results
day in August, the research phase is over, wish-lists are made, and as
over 530,000 students find out about their uni placements. Purchases
rise as certainty is assured. This spending spree continues throughout
the summer holiday period right up to the time they start uni in
the autumn, when more than 40% of all first year student
purchases are made.
That’s almost £450m in a single month.
09 / 45
 ADVERTISE EARLY
The spike in September is the anomaly. The research and spending in
£450M
the previous five months vastly outweighs the final surge. Brands and
retailers need to be launching their student campaigns long before the
university hopefuls take to their phones to search for deals. January
is the starting point. spent in a month
50%
45%
40%
35%
STARTED RESEARCHING
30%
PURCHASED
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
< APRIL 2019 MAY 2019 JUNE 2019 JULY 2019 AUGUST 2019 SEPTEMBER 2019 OCTOBER 2019 >
HALF OF FIRST YEARS START
LOOKING FOR THEIR PRE-UNI
DON’T FORGET THE FAMILY
Two thirds of the £1bn spent by
PURCHASES BEFORE GETTING
first years is actually covered by
parents and other family members.
Build them into your prospects list,
THEIR RESULTS
and consider a Gen X strategy for
targeting parents.
11 / 45
 Irresistible
impulses
On one hand, Gen Z is considered frugal, risk averse, and carefully
considered. Growing up under the yoke of austerity and financial crises,
Gen Z watched as their parents made cuts and changes to keep their
families afloat. This, in turn, has led to today’s generation being some of
the most careful young adults in history. They smoke less, they drink less,
they watch less TV, they care about the environment, and they choose
their brands carefully in light of all of this.
On the other hand, and in the face of all those powerful characteristics,
students continue to spend.
Hearing the phrase ‘whatever’s on sale that looks good’ or ‘whatever
catches my eye’ is enough to strike fear into the hearts of any retailer
hoping to target students this year, but that comes straight from the
horse’s mouth. What role does a 12-month sales strategy have in a market
dominated by instant gratification? Or in a market where, out of the top
20 items sought out by Gen Zs over sale weekends, only clothing comes
ahead of ‘impulse purchases’?1
13 / 45
1 . https://www.ypulse.com/article/2019/11/18/impulse-buys-will-drive-gen-z-millennials-black-friday-cyber-monday-shopping/
 A takeaway in
Students splashed with family was
out on champagne a popular way to
and prosecco when celebrate. Students’
2019 they found out favourite takeaway
they were going outlets are Domino’s
to uni. and Just Eat.
Laptops were Students wanted to
purchased specifically
for their course and
Students went out
to celebrate with their Nights out with
celebrate straightaway
and enjoy some of their
DRINKS TAKEAWAY
uni work. The most family and friends. friends took place on favourite food including
popular laptop model Nando’s was the most results day, sometimes cake, ice cream,
mentioned was frequently mentioned following a meal chocolate, sweets,
a MacBook Pro. restaurant. out with family. and pizza.
Coats and trainers
CHANGE SINCE PREVIOUS YEAR:
LAPTOP MEAL OUT NIGHT OUT FOOD
were popular items
that students treated Organised students MORE POPULAR
themselves to. Warmer bought items for their SAME POSITION
clothes were also course, which mainly
LESS POPULAR
mentioned both this included books from
year and last year. their reading lists.
CLOTHES/SHOES COURSE MATERIALS
Let’s celebrate
Getting into uni is a great cause for celebration.
New entry Champagne and prosecco top the charts for our soon to
be students, but there are more sensible surprises within.
Despite the balmy summer evenings of results week, students
are making choices now they know the trajectory of their
next few years. Warmer clothes, to cope with big moves from
Newquay to Newcastle, are high on the list of ‘celebratory’
WATCH/JEWELLERY BAGS purchases. The same goes for the surprisingly functional
choices of laptop bags and rucksacks, or smartwatches.
Some students treated Some of these were practical The spend on course materials, like books, fell compared
themselves to a new watch laptop bags or rucksacks for to last year. But still remains firmly in the top ten.
or some Pandora jewellery. walking round uni, and some
Students shopped at Apple students treated themselves So, brands and retailers need to simultaneously cater to
for their smartwatches, and to designer handbags. impulsive, reactive purchases, while also looking ahead to
Michael Kors. the needs of students months down the line. Nobody said
that pleasing a generation of buyers who even think that
next-day delivery is too slow2, would be easy.
15 / 45
2. https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2108141/gen-z-are-driving-chinas-consumer-trend-impulse-buying-and
 ‘STUDENTS
SIMPLY
CANNOT
RESIST
BUYING
An a day APPLE.’
It seems that there is one universal truth when it comes to student
spending. Uniting nationalities, genders, ages, horoscopes, and every
other diversity across the country... students simply cannot resist
buying Apple.
Every fibre of research supports this. Apple placed in the top three most
popular brands for males and females, in their first year, in second year,
and in third year. We also know that laptops were the most sought after
items, by students who missed out on buying them before term started.
They’re the third most purchased item to celebrate a successful results
day, and the second most purchased to celebrate graduation. And, you
guessed it, MacBooks won that race too. The same applied to iPads,
when it came to tablets.
But that’s strange, when you stop to think about it. Most first years value
low prices and good offers above everything else. Apple has never been
accused of being cheap, and the brand is infamously stoic on its fixed
pricing. So, it can be perplexing to connect the company’s success,
to Gen Z’s preferences.
Is this an anomaly, or are Apple’s products so good that they
transcend the rules?
Whilst it’s impossible for brands to try to replicate a movement like
Apple’s, there are lessons to be learnt in Apple’s resistance to market
forces, belief in its product, and unapologetic stance on product
and pricing.
And for every other retailer, there’s money to be made selling Apple.
17 / 45
Function
vs
fashion
It’s the heady final days of August. Around the country, would-be
students are enjoying the summer evenings in their hometown, with
their friends. In a matter of weeks, they start a new phase of their
lives. It’s safe to assume, then, that the money they’re spending in this
period is coming straight from the heart’s decisions, not their head.
One look at our chart of top celebratory purchases can confirm this,
with drinks, clothes, takeaways, and nights out featuring highly. But,
this year, they’re also treating themselves to accessories: designer
handbags from Michael Kors and yes, you guessed it, a smart
watch from Apple.
This mix of function and fashion supports what the world is slowly
beginning to change its mind on, with the vast cultural changes that
Gen Z are ushering in – students are sensible. Most of the time.
But the female market for designer handbags appears colossal, at
both ends of a student’s university career. These young women are
celebrating their A Level results by treating themselves to a new bag,
and they repeat this same behaviour three years later, celebrating
graduation through the medium of Gucci, Vivienne Westwood,
or Louis Vuitton. And from what we know about Gen Z being big
impulse shoppers, and female students preferring festive sales, and
starting to prefer in-store experiences, the marketing and advertising
opportunities for this segment offers a very tight targeting approach.
From what we know of the male student market, this year’s findings
suggests that Amazon Prime Day might be a logical pressure point.
Having finished their exams, and with 41% of them planning to shop
during the infamous online sale, it could be a field day for smartwatch
and rucksack purchases.
19 / 45
IT SEEMS THE ONLY
THING THAT STOPS
STUDENTS CONTINUING
THEIR INCREDIBLE £1BN
SPENDING SPREE IN THE
RUN-UP TO UNIVERSITY,
IS THAT LECTURES
ACTUALLY START AT
SOME POINT...
Regretting investing with their heart rather than their head,
they missed out on purchases like laptops, kitchenware,
printers and, for the first time, bicycles.
21 / 45
Missed opportunities
To help save money,
students wished Bath mats and laundry
they’d bought a printer baskets were the two
for their room, instead most popular homeware
of paying for uni items students wished
printing credits. they’d brought to uni.
PRINTER HOMEWARE
30%
of first year students
regretted not buying
certain items in
time for uni.
The most popular were Students wished
pans, utensils, baking they’d bought more
trays, more crockery, notebooks, folders,
kitchen knives, sieves, printer paper, and
more cutlery, and the desk organisers to
ever-important uni, to help organise
cheese grater. their work.
Students wished they Students felt they Students wish they’d
had bought a fast, light needed more been more organised and
laptop to make it easier
to make notes during
winter/warmer clothes
for uni, especially
purchased books from
their reading lists before
KITCHENWARE STATIONERY
lectures. Those who coats/jackets. Students they’d arrived at uni, and
already owned one also wished they’d some students wished
wanted a new, brought more they’d brought a wider
faster model. gym wear. range of textbooks.
CHANGE SINCE PREVIOUS YEAR:
LAPTOP CLOTHES/SHOES
COURSE MATERIALS MORE POPULAR
It was mostly SAME POSITION
female students
LESS POPULAR
who wished they
had a TV at uni.
TV
New entry
BIKE
Now at uni, students are
finding they want a quicker
way of travelling around
uni than walking.
23 / 45
“MILLENNIALS CONNECT
OVER ADVENTURE, WHILE
Be part of
GEN Z BONDS OVER
CHANGING THE WORLD.”
the problem?
On your bike...
This year, students wished they had a bike now that they were on campus –
for a quicker, cheaper, and more environmentally-friendly way to travel.
2019 saw Greta Thunberg become a household name, and the School Strike 4 Climate
movement shake the foundations of governments. Even Tinder noticed a difference in
what’s being said on dating profiles: ‘Millennials connect over adventure, while
Gen Z bonds over changing the world’.3
We also know that the current crop of students, infamous for being fickle and frugal
when it comes to brand loyalty, are only showing their allegiance to companies with
a social mission. Overwhelmingly so, in fact 85% of Gen Z actively seek companies
which prioritise solving world problems.4 And one in four will value sustainability
when choosing between one brand and another.
We even saw the UK Government bring their car ban forward in early 2020, with
just 15 years left on the clock for petrol and diesel vehicles.5 It stands to reason that
student spend on alternative forms of transport is going to be drastic over the next
decade, with bicycles the obvious forerunner in busy university towns and cities.
And of the myriad influences on student spending, could the university curriculum
itself become a factor? Sustainable retailers may have one eye on Yorkshire, to see
the impact that Sheffield University’s mandatory climate change modules will have
on an already sympathetic marketplace.6
3. https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/5/20997538/climate-change-tinder-environment-greta-thunberg-green-new-deal-dating-app-gen-z
4. https://www.paymentssource.com/opinion/to-win-gen-z-members-loyalty-support-their-causes
5. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/04/business/petrol-and-diesel-ban-uk/index.html 25 / 45
6. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/09/24/sheffield-university-students-attend-compulsory-lectures-climate/
IT’S NOT JUST
Holiday
A holiday was, by far, the most
popular celebratory purchase
made, some with friends and
GETTING INTO
some with family, to places
as far as New York
and Hawaii.
1
UNI THAT Laptop Car
STUDENTS
Finalists wanted a new Lots of final year students
laptop to either replace an bought a car to travel to
old one, or for further their new graduate job.
HE study. The most popular
PURCHASE
laptop mentioned was
a MacBook.
2 3
CELEBRATORY
Clothes/shoes Outfit for Alcohol
Students bought clothes
graduation Students’ favourite alcohol
ITEMS FOR...
for their new jobs, and also Students wanted a new was purchased to celebrate
treated themselves to smart outfit for their graduating. Champagne
clothes on their wish lists, graduation ceremonies. was the most popular.
e.g. a pair of Dr Martens Dresses were the most
or Louboutin heels. popular item mentioned.
4 5 6
Jewellery Meal out Phone Handbag
It was mostly female Lots of students went out Students wanted a Female students wanted to
students who wanted some for a meal with family to new phone to celebrate treat themselves to a new,
We asked final year students if they were planning on purchasing anything to new jewellery to celebrate celebrate graduating. graduating. sometimes designer, handbag,
graduation, including including Gucci, Vivienne
celebrate graduating. The most popular purchase was a holiday to relax after Pandora charms and Westwood, and
bracelets, necklaces, Louis Vuitton.
at least three years of studying. Other purchases that almost made the top and rings.
ten included food, cameras, watches, and a suit for their graduate jobs.
7 8 9 10
27 / 45
 Rolling
into a new
decade
Driving is a contentious topic for young people, and one that’s
going nowhere fast.
We know that Gen Z are the most environmentally conscious
generation in history, and they only lend their loyalty to brands with
social (often ecological) missions. We also know that bikes are now one
of the purchases first year students wish they’d made before they went
to university. Of the 550,000 first year students, just 20,000 (3.5%)
of them invest in a car to prepare for their studies.
This is a trend unique to students, not young people. 49% of 17 – 24
year olds have a driving licence, but almost half of them use it for
commuting, whereas only 2% use it for getting to college or university.
Triple this amount actually attend college or university, but choose
to get there by other means.7
While this seems extraordinarily low, the scales are balanced once
students hit 21. Buying a car is the third most popular celebratory
purchase on graduation. To put this into perspective, more graduates
celebrate with cars than they do with champagne.
But, is this something likely to carry on, in light of climate change,
and the UK Government’s looming ban on petrol and diesel cars?
We already know students will sacrifice their regular behaviours for
must have purchases (ahem, Apple), so is a car simply too important
for their careers and independence to let their morals interfere?
29 / 45
7. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/306500/young-car-drivers-2012.pdf
 Here for a
ND
SPE RS’ WEEK
good time, not
TOTANLG FRESHE
DURI a long time
Underestimate the economic impact of students at your peril.
Spending more than £400m per week, and almost £15bn £69 CLOTHES
per year, our nation’s budding scholars are responsible for
contributing 3.6% of the UK’s entire retail spend. And, for a
group notoriously stereotyped for their Super Noodle lifestyle,
this is a wake-up call for retailers not taking the student £68 BOOKS/STUDY MATERIALS
market seriously.
Especially when you consider that, since 2017, their average
spend has been consistently increasing, and is now more than
double what it was two years ago. £59 NIGHTS OUT
But like any other market, there are pinch and pressure points.
Christmas sales, Black Friday, and student loan payment
dates are all logical assumptions for chances to capitalise on
increased outlay. However, it’s freshers’ week which has the £54 GROCERIES
golden ticket – a period in September where student spending
is 73% higher than in any other term-time week. And another
booming market to boot, with students spending 14% more in
this period than they were a couple of years ago. £52 HOMEWARE
Despite what the Gen Z research will tell you about a new
healthy and frugal lifestyle, or studies showing that teetotal
bookworms are becoming the norm8, 43% of total freshers’
week spend comes from partying. The combined spending on £45 EATING OUT
alcohol, eating out, takeaways, and nights out totals more than
£300m in September – or an average of £184 per student.
With the impulsive nature of these purchases, and students’
affinity towards low prices and offers, it’s open season for bars £42 ALCOHOL
and restaurants to compete in real-time on the high street.
£38 TAKEAWAYS
31 / 45
8. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/students-spend-freshers-week-in-library-sftrd8kn9
 D With great
SPEN L WEEK
OTAL TYPICA
T NG A power comes great
DURI responsibility
By far one of the greatest life lessons of university is
money management.
£37 GROCERIES
Often for the first time in their lives, these 18 year olds
have access to large amounts of cash, and while they clearly
splash out on freshers’ week the realities of budgeting
quickly hit home. £36 CLOTHES
As weekly spending drops by 42%, to around £250, the
biggest casualties, and therefore the most important
advertising opportunities for freshers’ week, are books and
study materials (-57%), as students fulfilled their reading £33 NIGHTS OUT
list – and clothes (-49%), required to cope with the influx of
freshers’ parties. One of the surprising drops, in third place,
is a 47% fall in alcohol spending. We know freshers’ week is
the biggest party of the year, but alcohol falls and stays at
the bottom of the list in terms of regular weekly outlays.
£31 EATING OUT
The most resistant of weekly spends are those of a tasty
nature. Eating out and groceries fell by just 30%, while
takeaways continued to be a student staple, falling by £30 HOMEWARE
just 23%, and still commanding a £29 spend each
and every week.
Students can sacrifice a lot to make ends meet, but not,
it seems, their stomachs. £29 BOOKS/STUDY MATERIALS
£29 TAKEAWAYS
£22 ALCOHOL
33 / 45
 Spend increased by A TYPICAL WEEK AT UNI
55.3%
MOST
SPENDING
Since 2017, average spending
has increased by £88 per week
per student, although on first
£159 £233 £247
glance this may not seem like
much, the benefit to the retail
market is an additional
AT UNI HAS
£5 billion!
2017 2018 2019
INCREASED
OVER THE
Spend increased by
14.2% FRESHERS’ WEEK
LAST FEW
YEARS…
This year saw a dip in student
extravagance during freshers’
week for the first time since
we’ve been running our lifestyle
report. Is this a consequence of
the well-publicised fall of many
£374 £435 £427
high street stores? Either way,
it’s still a healthy £400 injection
of cash to the retailers up and
down the UK.
2017 2018 2019
35 / 45
big
WE KNOW THAT WHERE STUDENTS SHOP FOR GROCERIES IS MOSTLY
The DEPENDENT ON LOCATION. BUT, FOR MANY STUDENTS, UNI IS THE
FIRST TIME THEY CHOOSE WHERE TO SHOP INDEPENDENTLY.
shop
For 68% of first years, the first big shop takes place during freshers’ week, with just under half of
these students relying on parents to pay. Students continue to do this at the beginning of each
study year, but rely less on parents to pay for it as they near graduation.
60% 39% 37% 35% 31%
Many of us have fond memories of our shopping trips as students. Lugging six bags
of groceries to a top floor kitchen, debating the £1.99 ketchup but gladly picking up the
£19.99 cowboy hat, or even, dare we say it, borrowing a shopping trolley to ease the
journey home. But is it logical to assume that, with the rise of metro and local stores,
the ‘big shop’ is being consigned to the past?
Not the case. More than two thirds of first year students are still carrying out an initial large TESCO ALDI SAINSBURY’S LIDL ASDA
grocery shop during freshers’ week. The cynics might say this is to take advantage of their
parents’ wallets, who often drop them off at the beginning of term. And the cynics would
be right. Parents are responsible for more than half of the total spend in supermarkets
during that first week. With £61m being splashed out around the country for these start
of year shopping trips, the bank of Mum and Dad picks up more than £33m of that bill.
Second and third years become slowly more independent, relying less on their family
as each year passes, but still committing to that annual pilgrimage. Responsible now for 23% 17% 16% 7% 6%
their own spend, these are the prospects most susceptible to supermarket advertising
campaigns which highlight low prices and good offers – the two things students tell
us are the most important factors in choosing one shop over another.
CO-OP MORRISONS ICELAND M&S SPAR
But such choices are fleeting. Students will switch to whichever shop offers them the best
savings, and will cycle between three supermarkets throughout their time at university.
You’d be surprised then, to see that the famously budget-friendly Aldi and Lidl are in just
second and fourth place respectively. Tesco wins the day – but as the largest chain in the
UK, that’s understandable. Sainsbury’s beats Lidl to third, while Asda rounds off the top
5% 4%
five. Fully expected is the poor performance of the more expensive local shops, or the
premium supermarkets, with M&S, Spar, Waitrose, and One Stop propping up the
top ten list.
Whichever way the wind blows a student in freshers’ week, they’re splashing out around
£54 on their first big shop. For those new to university, it might be their parents’ preference
of supermarket this time, giving those less popular options a chance to cash in on this WAITROSE ONESTOP
temporary market in town.
68%
But from week two onwards, it’s all about the money, and spending less of it.
of first year students carry out
an initial large grocery shop
during freshers’ week
37 / 45
 BLACK FRIDAY IS THE BIGGEST
Why we can’t SHOPPING EVENT AMONG FIRST YEARS
resist a sale 65% 52% 45% 34% 26%
BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY AMAZON PRIME DAY BOXING DAY SALES JANUARY SALES
For 200,000 years, we’ve been hunter-gatherers, relying on our instincts
to survive. The fight or flight reflex, the opportunistic foraging – these
behaviours were what allowed us to thrive and become dominant.
All of those instincts are still within us, and determine our behaviour in Black Friday is the most popular shopping event among students, out of the five listed below.
everyday life. We don’t need to decide whether to wrestle a saber-toothed It seems that male students are after tech deals, preferring to shop during Black Friday and
tiger or not, but we do still make a decision on whether to argue with
Amazon Prime day, whereas female students like to shop around Christmas time.
the parking attendant.
We’re also at the whim of our chemistry when it comes to shopping
and sales.
For our Stone Age counterparts, the ‘scarcity impulse’ would have us
grabbing meat and berries and tools which we didn’t immediately need,
just because we may never come across them again. Today, in the aisles
of HMV or the pages of Amazon, the same impulse compels us to make
62% 67%
purchases purely based on the fact that an item is selling quickly, or selling
out. Even if there’s plenty of stock, we’re worried that the sale price will
disappear.9 Add this internal monologue to the hyper-impulsive buying BLACK FRIDAY
behaviours of students, and you have the perfect storm for a sale.
The same goes for ‘loss aversion’ – a behaviour in which as soon as we
21% 33%
touch, test, drive, or play with something, we start to consider it our own.
And if somebody else wants it, we’d defend it. CYBER MONDAY
Or, in modern times, we buy it before they can.10
28% 41%
It’s no wonder, then, that almost half of all students are going
to participate in every single major sale over the next year:
Black Friday, Boxing Day, Cyber Monday, Amazon Prime Day, AMAZON PRIME DAY
and the January sales.
50% BOXING DAY SALES
40%
59% JANUARY SALES
42%
39 / 45
9/10. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20150318-tame-your-inner-impulse-buyer
EVEN IF THEY
ONLY SPENT £20
EACH, THIS WOULD
AMOUNT TO A Black Friday,
£30M ONE-DAY
MARKET. again and
again
Each November, something disturbing occurs to which we have all now become desensitised...
On the fourth Thursday of the month, just after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, Black Friday
looms – turning everyday shoppers feral. Footage of brawling in the aisles of US supermarkets, of
grappling over widescreen TVs, and of chaotic queues stretching for a mile no longer affects us
like it used to. We’ve accepted it. And thanks to Amazon, and Walmart-owned supermarket chain
Asda, Black Friday fever started to spread throughout the UK from 2010.
All of this applies just as much to cash-strapped students as it does to the older generations.
While the UK doesn’t suffer from the same level of fever, there’s no denying that our shoppers
are just as enthusiastic about sales. And Black Friday is still the king, with 65% of students taking
advantage of the big day.
Even if they only spent £20 each, this would amount to a £30m one-day market.
Black Friday has now easily outstripped the traditional festive season sales, where only around
half are shopping on Boxing Day or the January sales. Male students are more likely to opt for
the tech-focused sales (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Amazon Prime Day), while females lean more
towards the fashion bargains around Christmas.
However, that’s where the stereotypes end. For three consecutive generations, online shopping
has been climbing while the high street suffers as a result. For the first time in decades, the buck
is stopping. Gen Z is now the least likely group to shop online, as they look to physically immerse
themselves in brands, locations, and experiences.
These are shoppers still in their ‘discovery mode’ – establishing their opinions and outlooks
on brands. It’s a process which ‘in stores, is a lot more immersive. The trial, they try-on, the
socialisation of having others shopping with you’.11
Brands and retailers need to look toward combining the in-store and online experience, bringing
tech indoors. Augmented reality and virtual fitting rooms are already common in the US, and no
doubt it’s another import coming our way.
41 / 45
11. https://techhq.com/2019/11/millennials-are-the-biggest-spenders-for-cyber-monday-2019/

ARE YOU
GETTING
YOUR SLICE
OF THE
£15.7BN PIE?
With student retail spend a significant force to reckon with, brands are
wrestling with the important decision of how to allocate marketing spend –
this season’s new look needs promoting, and the extra stock of noodles
bought in for a bargain needs to sell to keep the cash flowing. It’s also an
era of brand safety, ensuring you’re not exposing yourself to a platform,
individual, or campaign that’s going to backfire and damage your
reputation to a core audience or beyond. So, where do you go and
how do you grow? Luckily, this is where UCAS Media can help
you get your slice of the student market.
UCAS Media is possibly the biggest kept secret in the youth industry. We have provided
solutions for brands, education providers, and employers wanting to get closer to today’s
students for 14 years – supporting over nine million students as they make decisions about
their next steps. Evolved from our education roots, we’re fully immersed in the commercial
and employer sectors, providing invaluable insights, marketing channels, and access to first
party verified data, enabling brands and employers to open up this lucrative audience.
As part of empowering 700,000 higher education applicants every year to make major
life decisions, we continue our student relationships throughout their education journey,
enabling us to build first party data connections to nearly two million verified students.
While continually adding new cohorts of students to our activities, we’re able to use this
unique relationship to regularly ask them about their likes, dislikes, opinions, and changing
habits during all stages of higher education, building a robust and unparalleled view
of student behaviour and activity in the UK.
Analysis of this data enables us to pinpoint changes to an applicant’s status, collate
information on their interests, and cross-match them to your services. Our ethos is built
around the need for effective marketing, and to do that, we fit with the needs of the student –
giving them the right information, through the right channels, at the right time. Being
able to predict peaks and troughs in activity lets us provide insight to help retailers and
education providers better understand this group as consumers, and communicate
with them en masse or at an individual level.
Single or multi-channel campaigns deliver targeted early access to students considering
university or college, providing brands with the ideal opportunity to begin their awareness
campaigns earlier than anyone else.
Our credentials are unparalleled.
> Our audience reach – unique to UCAS, our verified and qualified student data means
your campaign will always be in front of exactly the right audience.
> Our high performing media channels – whether you need a single marketing message,
or a multi-channel campaign, our team will recommend the right solution for you.
> Our unique insight – for added value, drive additional conversion, understand the
performance of your current strategy, or plan longer-term initiatives with our
data services.
We’re a wholly owned subsidiary of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
and we share in its strong values and enabling people to access higher education. By working
with us, you’ll be directly supporting today’s and tomorrow’s students, because we gift aid our
profits back to UCAS, the charity. This reduces the cost of admissions services for students
and higher education providers alike.
TO FIND OUT MORE - PLEASE GET IN TOUCH.
Call 01242 544 881
or email ucasmedia@ucas.ac.uk.
43 / 45
 COME
AND MEET
THE TEAM
ON STAND 8
WE ARE LAUNCHING
THE FULL STUDENT
LIFESTYLE REPORT
AT YMS. FIND US HERE!
Don’t miss us at YMS2020
29 – 30 April 2020 l The Old Truman Brewery, Shoreditch, London
YMS is celebrating its 10th year, it’s also your chance to join us, as key sponsors
of the Student Marketing Track. Join us on Thursday 30 April from 09:25, for two hours
of unique insight and big reveals into youth marketing.
We’ll be teaming up with guest speakers – starting from the ground up we’ll be discussing
the current education landscape, what’s coming, and what’s going to influence future
changes. To the power of trusted first-party data, and our unique perspective on
the commercial habits of students, with a lifestyle deep dive.
Be the first to get your hands on our full lifestyle report.
45 / 45
Report releases:
BRAND SOCIAL TECH
LIVE W/C - 24 FEB W/C - 9 MAR W/C - 23 MAR

ENTERTAINMENT
FOOD TRAVEL FULL
REPORT
W/C - 6 APR W/C - 20 APR W/C - 27 APR
LAUNCHING AT THE YMS2020
29-30 APRIL

T: 01242 544 881

E: ucasmedia@ucas.ac.uk

ucasmedia.com