Just Style

In data: Fashion set for £1.5bn boost as Gen Z prepares for new academic year

As the new academic year approaches, fashion emerges as a key spending category for Gen Z with the demographic projected to spend £4.3bn ($5.5bn) on back-to-school essentials.

The latest Student Insights Report from UNiDAYS, a UK-based student discount app, revealed fashion has an expected total expenditure of £1.5bn, with respondents indicating plans to buy across all categories.

A desire for comfort and style means trainers will be particularly popular, with a predicted spend of £308m, as well as womenswear (£238m), streetwear (£176m) and accessories (£174m).

The growth in sneakers and trainers aligns with GlobalData’s prediction in its “Global Apparel Market to 2028,” report that footwear will outperform and increase by 0.5ppts between 2023 and 2028, reaching 17.8%. This is thanks to sustained high demand for trainers, as consumers will continue to seek the latest designs from their favourite brands.

GlobalData described Gen Z shoppers as the most passionate about following fashion trends and most frequently seeking out new items to wear for social events. It predicts this demographic will continue to drive growth in the market.

Derek Morrison, managing director of retail marketplace at UNiDAYS, emphasised the significance of the back-to-school period for retailers and said: “Gen Z is willing and able to spend on what they deem most important—but that doesn’t mean brands can’t give them a helping hand by meeting them at their passion points going into the new academic year."

Over the 12 months to June 2023, GlobalData found 88.6% of UK consumers purchased apparel. This was driven by those aged 25-44, with 91.2% of this group purchasing apparel in 2023.

This age group tended to have the greatest interest in fashion and higher discretionary incomes than the younger 16-24s.

Source: GlobalData

In a report titled “UK Apparel Consumer Insights,” casualwear was found to be the most important style with 65.8% of shoppers purchasing it as of June 2023. In terms of categories, womenswear topped at 61.5% followed closely by men’s clothing at 60.1%.

In July, US retail giant Walmart released its State of Adaptive Retail Report and found that 20% of Gen Z see social media as a future primary shopping platform.