Back to uni: Retail’s inclusion of university students

University students’ shopping habits may be overlooked, but with fresher’s week just gone, retailers have a huge advantage in trying to appeal to a young and hungry demographic.

For 2019, student discount and jobs site Save The Student found that a colossal 79 per cent of 3385 university students worry about “making ends meet”.

Student life undoubtedly results in increased weekly costs in addition to the annual fees of over £9000, and with sustainability and thrift-wear being trendy with the millennial age, retailers have an advantage to whip out their student discounts.

With retailers such as Asos being crowned by social network Campus Society as the “best communicator” when it comes to engaging with university students, retailers are seeing this as a wake-up call to find ways in becoming more student-friendly.

Apps such as Pouch, Unidays, Grabble, Totum and Student Beans offer a platform of discounts for students, but retailers should ask themselves whether discounting is enough to lure students in.

Student Beans offers discounts from a variety of retailers

Julian Fisher, chief executive of information service Jisp, said that students don’t just demand discounts, they expect them.

“Retailers have to find additional ways to attract their meagre spend. Rewards for their loyalty or reductions in everyday-goods are the key drivers to lure students in.”

However, Helen Farrington, a retail and garment technology lecturer at the Fashion Retail Academy, argued that the students of today are “not just focused on discounts”.

“They expect quality merchandise, choice, free delivery, transparency of production and sustainability and community.”

Meanwhile, Alex Rohloff, co-founder of payment platform Laybuy, told Retail Gazette that discounts are a gateway to students as long as there’s more to the offering.

“Understandably, people love a discount. So, it’s quite hard to offer students anything less than a universal discount on an ongoing basis to retain them as loyal customers.

“Retailers could offer limited bespoke packages or experiences to make customer relationships more personal, rather than just transactional.

“Topshop on Oxford Street is a great example of this in action. It has a full-on salon on the bottom floor, which is quite a well-targeted and interesting technique to intrigue people enough for them to come inside, as opposed to coming in purely to spend money,” he said.

Farrington agreed and said “retailers should invest in being more omnichannel and making store experiences ‘Instagrammable’.”

Thanks to mobile technology giving users instant and easy online access, retailers are now able to deliver a multi-channel experience in order to reach students – regardless of how and when they want to spend.

“Innovation and simplicity are attractive to students”

Moreover, as students have become more tech-savvy with the digital age, retailers such as Asos, Ikea and Argos have invested in AR and VR technology to appeal to the wider market, and while the technologies have been successful, it’s arguable as to whether it’s enough to attract the demographic.

Simon Brennan, vice president Europe at software firm Engage Hub, said that often times, AR is “adopted as innovation for innovation’s sake”.

“As technology evolves, so do consumer expectations. High street retailers need to ensure that any new technology integrated isn’t merely a novelty, after all, most students just want technology to help them shop better, cheaper or quicker.”

However, he added that “innovation and simplicity are attractive to students”.

Farrington added that it’s likely students will eventually lose interest in AR, and retailers should instead invest more in experiential retail, as athleisure retailer Sweaty Betty did, which now offers exercise and yoga classes.

Jessica Pinkett, head of youth insights at student discount platform Student Beans, told Retail Gazette that “technology cannot be ignored”.

“Eight of the 10 favourite brands in our Youth 100, as voted for by 16-24 year olds in the UK, are tech companies.

“Any retailer that wants to have a successful future in this demographic should seriously consider investing in new tech innovations, such as AR, VR, voice and visual search,” she said.

Meanwhile, Brennan added that retailers can use social media to their advantage as it helps them “keep up to date”.

“Social media has proven to be one of the best tools for advertising to students, as well as to 18-to-24-year-olds more generally.

“With an expanding global student population of 200 million, retailers are all too aware that students not only have immense spending power now but are likely to evolve into the high earners of the future and standing out in a saturated market is proving challenging.”

Moreover, Rohloff said it’s logical for retailers to prioritise online sales in line with the societal shift towards shopping this way, as online shopping means consumers are in total control.

“Students want to engage with retailers that are innovative and invest in inspiring content”

“While there is a lot of work to do to ensure that online stores are fully functional, optimised and accessible for everyone, they still typically offer a better customer experience than physical stores. The omnichannel experience must therefore be uniform and consistent.

“On the flip side however, the beauty of shopping in-store is that if you find an item you like, in your size, then you can take it home straight away. When making purchases online, no matter how brief, there’s always going to be a delay between the point of purchase and the time you receive your items.”

It can be argued that one reason why Asos was crowned as “best communicator” by Campus Society could be down to its convenient next-day delivery and simple refund service. In addition, Asos often updates its trends to remain relevant among millennials, and on top of that, offers student discount.

Asos was crowned by Campus Society as the “best communicator” when it came to engaging with university students

Rashid Ajami, founder and chairman of Campus Society, said Asos is “a great example of a retailer that has moved to reduce its traditional advertising spend and instead invest in technologies and platforms that will enable it to have a better, more connected relationship with its customers”.

“Students want to engage with retailers that are innovative and invest in inspiring content,” he added.

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The post Back to uni: Retail’s inclusion of university students appeared first on Retail Gazette.

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