National Survey Reveals College Student Buying Habits

Shows where they shop, what they buy, how much they spend

OBERLIN, Ohio, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Insight into the world of college student shopping habits is now available in the latest Student Watch study conducted by OnCampus Research, a division of the National Association of College Stores (NACS) that helps companies better understand the college market.

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The Student Watch 2011 survey aims to answer pressing questions about college students' consumer trends: where they shop, what they buy, how much they spend, and how to reach them most effectively. Highlights of the report include:

• A ranking of top retail stores college students shop (Wal-Mart and Target)
• Healthier lifestyles that college students want to live (61% consume fresh fruit)
• The economy's effect on college students (75% say they are comparing prices more often before making a purchase)

"The survey assigns hard numbers to college student shopping habits and changes in those shopping habits, and gives insight into how this diverse group is living its lives," says Julie Traylor, NACS' chief of research and head of OnCampus. "The report also provides the data segmented by age, gender, major field of study, class, and residency status."

Student Watch™ 2011 The Retail Edge: Insights Into Your Core Consumer on Campus was sponsored and published by the NACS Foundation. More than 15,000 college students from 21 campuses nationwide participated in the survey between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, 2010.  

For more information, or to set up an interview with the survey's authors, please contact Charles Schmidt, NACS' director of public relations.

About OnCampus Research

OnCampus Research is a consultative research group with one mission: to help companies better understand the college market. With more than 75 years of experience in the college industry, we offer full-service quantitative and qualitative research literally 'OnCampus,' through our online panel of over 18,000 students at 1,100 campuses nationwide. Specializing in online surveys, focus groups, omnibus surveys, syndicated studies, and in-depth interviews, OnCampus works with clients to create a strategy that best fits their needs and positions them as the brand of choice among college students.

SOURCE National Association of College Stores