Teens splurge Rs 5K a month on clothes
Pocket money scales appear to have undergone drastic revision in India.Nearly 35 per cent of youth in urban centres of India spend a staggering Rs 5,000 per month on clothing alone, a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has found.
Interestingly, children of working parents tended to spend more than children from households where one parent was working.
About 35 per cent of respondents with both parents working said they upgrade their wardrobe every month and usually spend around Rs 5,000 per month on apparel.
In contrast, 30 per cent children of single working parent families said they spend a maximum of Rs 3,000 on clothes in a month.
About 55 per cent of this group said they spend Rs 2,000- 2,500 per month to upgrade their wardrobe and 15 per cent said they spend Rs 1,000- 1,500 on clothes every month.
There is also a clear preference for brands and store locations, which should come as music to the ears of branded retailers and malls. A majority of the respondents said they shop only in branded stores as they cared more about the brand and less about price.
The survey covered 2,000 youngsters in the age group of 13- 21 years to evaluate their apparel purchasing tendencies in 10 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh. The survey was carried out during March- June.
The sample included equal number of male and female respondents. Half of the total sample included youngsters whose both parents are employed and half whose single parent is working.
Nearly 400 respondents said they spend about Rs 3,500- 4,000 every month on clothes.
Shopping zones ranged from traditional markets to specialty and high- end retail stores.
Interestingly, almost 60 per cent of the respondents said they have cluttered closets full of clothes they seldom wear, which made dressing stressful and time consuming.
“ Today teens exhibit a strong desire for individuality in their self- expression and end up spending a major chunk of their allowance on clothes,” said Assocham secretary general D. S. Rawat.
