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Kiran Aditham
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Kiran Aditham is a Business Management grad from the University of Central Florida, Aditham earned his stripes as a freelance writer in music/arts publishing.

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Got Fashionistas? Yahoo Schools E-Retailers on the Value of Trendsetting Teens

Written on
January 27th 2006
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by Kiran Aditham  |
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From an online marketing perspective, teens have been one of the most misunderstood, yet coveted demographics dwelling in cyberspace today. Though it’s a generation practically raised in the digital age, the high-school set’s behavior online has been somewhat indefinable, and at worst, volatile.

But in the past year alone, a loose coalition — from renowned media outlets to research firms - has emerged to try and pinpoint the online spending and usage patterns of this group, which barely precedes the more visible, marketable 18-25 demographic. A New York Times report from last February helped break the mold on a teenager’s web habits in terms of commerce, proving in the process that corporations are also waking up on how to target them.

Joined by marketing firm Teenage Research Unlimited, the Times highlighted the vastly revamped selling strategies of stalwart brands like Macy’s, whose Thisit.com aimed strictly at teenage girls and defied the bland, traditional e-retailer site. For example, visitors at initial launch were greeted with a depiction of Times Square, with nine numbered billboards and a blimp. Web-savvy visitors who knew about site navigation could mouse over a certain icons to unlock certain sections and their contents. In addition, the site offered advice on trends, music downloads and video clips, and a series of photo layouts designed by the editors of Teen Vogue featuring models wearing Macy’s merchandise. And when visitors clicked the “buy now” button, they’re transported to a page on the Juniors/ThisIt section of Macy’s.com, where those items are shown along with prices and color options.

Macy’s online chief Kent Anderson told the Times that the site is “mostly designed to be about their lifestyle and communicating with them, versus a hard sell like ‘here’s the merchandise, it’s on sale.’” But nearly a year later, Yahoo Search Marketing reports that many of Macy’s competitors have yet to adopt similarly inventive strategies to their ecommerce efforts concerning teens. A new study by Yahoo Search, in conjunction with NATO (not that one, but the National American Testing Organization), could open marketers’ eyes to the untapped potential and value that young adults can offer online.

The study, commissioned to help retailers more effectively market to today’s sophisticated youth, revealed 50% of all fashion-forward teenagers search online for clothing, accessories, shoes or jewelry, and turn to search more than television ads and fashion websites when researching information on these types of products. The survey also found that keyword searches are an important part of the research and purchase decision-making process for these teenagers, surpassing magazines and television ads.

Yahoo specifically surveyed 395 male and female teens age 15-19, who comprise the aforementioned “fashion-forward” niche market, or Fashionistas. To be included in this reputable set, participants had to have shopped for apparel at least once in the past three months, used the Internet to search for information about clothes or accessories; and considered themselves a fashion trendsetter.
“We really wanted [these] leaders because they not only set trends in what people are wearing — that’s certainly of huge importance to most hip apparel retailers- but they’ll also lead they way in terms of technology like digital devices and new media,” Diane Rinaldo, Director of Retail Category for Yahoo! Search Marketing, tells ADOTAS. “So these are leaders and not followers. They’ll set the trend and that’s why the focus is on them.”

The study did reveal some striking results, including the fact that 68% of fashionistas surveyed use the Internet to access the latest fashion trends and consider it an important source of driving brand awareness — especially to learn about unfamiliar labels.

Other key implications include:

• Fashionistas who shop more heavily are significantly more likely to use search to engage with brands.

• Half of Fashionistas surveyed intend on using search the next time they look for information about clothes and accessories.

• The Fashionistas surveyed use search and websites as a research tool before purchasing. Therefore, search marketing campaigns and websites should be built for information gathering as opposed to streamlining the actual purchase process.

• Teens consider search on equal footing with magazines as a medium they use to discover new brands. Because of this, marketers who wish to build brand awareness should consider implementing search marketing campaigns in addition to their traditional media efforts.



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