Student Lifestyles - UK

Published by: Mintel International Group Ltd.

Published: Jul. 1, 2008 - 145 Pages

Table of Contents

Issues in the Market

Qualitative

Online quantitative

TGI data

Abbreviations

Insights and Opportunities

Keeping in league

School links need to be forged

Open minds at Open Days

Location, location, location

Contact time: Students do the sums

Communication is the key

Bringing the outside in

Choosing where to live - the importance of a happy environment

Communicate or else…

Personal finance training works best when it’s really needed

Banks should encourage students to spend responsibly

Tapping in to the student computer market

Students are the family food shoppers of tomorrow

Gaining the loyalty of students - and their parents

Shop-starved students love looking at clothes

Outside the box: new ways of targeting the fashion-conscious student

Holidays and work abroad can fill the gap for students

Leisure providers should target second-years

Catering for the needs of sporty female students

Fast Forward Trends

Trend 1 - Finance in Flux

What it’s about

Observations

What next?

Trend 2 - Boomerang Generation

What’s it about?

Observations

What’s next

Lifestyle Sector in Brief

Messages for universities

Beyond the academic bubble

Contact and communication count

Messages for business

Responsible marketing is essential for student finance

‘My laptop is my life’ - maximising value from computer dependency

Food retailers should nurture tomorrow’s family food shoppers

Fashion outlets in university towns have an eager market

How travel companies can deal with gap year disenchantment

Helping students enjoy social nights in - and out

Making sport work - especially for female students

Student Demographics

Key points

Are higher tuition fees discouraging students?

SEC remains a thorny issue

Students as Consumers: Getting There

Key points

Making the Decision: Why University?

Inertia still reigns - but career prospects are a growing focus

Making the Decision: Why this University?

Students are becoming astute consumers

Students as Consumers: Do Their Universities Deliver?

Key points

Course organisation

Teaching

Electronic resources

Academic facilities

Contact time

Student living

Accommodation

When the going gets tough…

Making Money Go Round: The Cost of Student Life

Key points

Money management: how it all adds up

Student loan

Parental help

Grants

Paid employment

Help from banks

Borrowing

Saving

How much do they need to live on?

How easy is it to budget?

The effect of tuition fees

Student Spending: Course Expenses

Key points

‘My laptop is my life: a computer is essential…

The prohibitive cost of books

A little light reading…

Student Spending: Food and Grocery Shopping

Key points

Shopping for food: how much do they spend?

Shopping for food: Getting it home

Cooking and eating: A healthy appetite?

Student Spending: Looking Good

Key points

Fashion matters to female students

Fancy dress and second-hand

Clothes, toiletries and cosmetics - who pays?

Student Spending: Travel and Transport

Key points

Have wheels, will travel?

Term-time travel

Is the gap year now a cliché?

Student Spending: Staying in, or a Good Night Out

Key points

Town or gown - social facilities on and off campus

Constraints on student social life

How much do they spend on going out?

Drinking and smoking

Are pubs suffering from the rise of pre-drinking?

Fewer student smokers

A touch of culture…

University clubs and societies

‘We make our own fun’: Students and staying in

Entertainment technology

Entertainment-related purchases

Keeping in touch

Student Spending: Sporting Life

Key points

Sporty students

University sports facilities

Next Steps: Future Priorities and Plans

Career ambitions clouded by uncertainty

Salary expectations

Saddled with debt

Future optimism?

Forecast

Key points

Participation to grow across the board

Figure 1: Male students in higher education* in the UK, by type of course, 2006/07-2012/13

Figure 2: Female students in higher education* in the UK, by type of course, 2006/07-2012/13

Undergraduate numbers to rise…

Figure 3: Numbers of full-time undergraduates, 2006/07-2012/13

…as will proportion of women

Figure 4: Males and females as % of full-time undergraduates, 2006/07-2012/13

Factors used in the forecast

Appendix: Student Demographics

Figure 5: Students in higher education:1 by type of course and sex, 1970/71-2005/06

Figure 6: Numbers of full-time undergraduates, 1970/71-2005/06

Figure 7: Males and females as % of full-time undergraduates, 1970/71-2005/06

Figure 8: Higher education initial participation rate (heipr)1 for english domiciled first-time participants in higher education courses at uk higher education institutions, 1999/00-2006/07

Figure 9: Total number of university applicants by 24 March, by entry cycle and gender, 2007 and 2008

Figure 10: Total number of uk-based university applicants aged 18 and under, by entry cycle and socio-economic classification, 2007 and 2008

Appendix: Students as Consumers: Getting There

Figure 11: Reasons for choosing current university, 2006

Appendix: Students as Consumers: Do Their Universities Deliver?

Figure 12: Student satisfaction, 2007

Figure 13: Worst aspects of university life, 2007

Figure 14: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i worry a lot about myself’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 15: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i worry about work in my leisure time’, students and non-students, 2007

Appendix: Making Money Go Round: The Cost of Student Life

Figure 16: Parental contributions, 2007

Figure 17: Ownership of credit cards and store cards, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 18: Credit card ownership, 2003-07

Figure 19: Ownership of savings account and isas, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 20: Student indebtedness, 2007

Figure 21: Average student expenditure, 2007

Figure 22: Expenditure items in the past week - students by gender, May 2008

Figure 23: Agreement/disagreement that ‘I am very good at managing money’, students and non-students, 2005-07

Figure 24: Agreement/disagreement that ‘I am no good at saving money’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 25: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i tend to spend money without thinking’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 26: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i am perfectly happy with my standard of living’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 27: Student attitudes to finance, 2005 and 2007

Appendix: Student Spending: Course Expenses

Figure 28: Those with their own computer/printer at university with them - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 29: Who paid for own computer at university - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 30: Spending on hardback and paperback books in the last 12 months, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 31: Purchasing of paperback and hardback books in the last 12 months, students and non-students, 1998-2007

Figure 32: Purchasers of newspapers, magazines and books in the past week - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Appendix: Student Spending: Food and Grocery Shopping

Figure 33: Methods of grocery shopping - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 34: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i really enjoy cooking’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 35: Attitudes to cooking - students 2005 and 2007

Figure 36: Knowledge of cooking - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 37: Reliance on convenience foods - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 38: Healthy or unhealthy diets - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Appendix: Student Spending: Looking Good

Figure 39: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i like to keep up with the latest fashions’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 40: Agreement/disagreement that ‘it is important to me to look well dressed’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 41: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i really enjoy shopping for clothes’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 42: Clothes buying habits and attitudes - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 43: Opinion of clothes shops in university town, and use of student discounts - students by university region, May 2008

Figure 44: Purchasers of clothes and shoes in the past week - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 45: Purchasers of clothes and shoes in the past week - students by university region, May 2008

Figure 46: Second-hand and fancy dress clothes shopping - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 47: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i spend a lot on clothes’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 48: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i spend a lot on toiletries and cosmetics for personal use’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 49: Parental purchasing of clothes and toiletries - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 50: Purchasers of toiletries and make-up in the past week - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Appendix: Student Spending: Travel and Transport

Figure 51: Driving licence ownership, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 52: Full driving licence ownership, students and non-students, 2003-2007

Figure 53: Car and bicycle ownership, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 54: Car ownership, students and non-students, 2003--2007

Figure 55: Those who have a car at university with them - students by gender, university year, type of university and university region, May 2008

Figure 56: Term-time travel - students by gender, university year, and type of university, May 2008

Figure 57: Gap year attitudes and behaviour - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Appendix: Student Spending: Staying in, or a Good Night Out

Figure 58: Opinion of social facilities on and off campus - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 59: Opinion of social facilities on and off campus - students by university region, May 2008

Figure 60: Reasons for not going out as often as wished- students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 61: Frequency of pub drinking, daytime, students and non-students, 2007-08

Figure 62: Frequency of pub drinking, evening, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 64: Those who often drink alcohol at home before going out for an evening- students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 65: Purchasers of alcohol (off-trade) in the past week - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 66: Cigarette smoking, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 67: Those trying to give up smoking, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 68: Cigarette smokers - students and non-students, 1998-2007

Figure 69: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i consider myself interested in the arts’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 70: Cultural activities in past year, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 71: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i am a regular cinema-goer’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 72: Those who regularly take part in the activities of university clubs and society - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 73: Those who often spend social evenings in with friends - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 74: Online viewing habits - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 75: Offline tv viewing habits - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 76: Downloading music- students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 77: Ownership of MP3 player, students and non-students, 2005 and 2007

Figure 78: Purchasers of dvds, CDs, music downloads, in the past week - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Figure 79: Mobile phone ownership, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 80: Type of mobile phone contract, male and female students, 2003-07

Appendix: Student Spending: Sporting Life

Figure 81: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i do some form of sport or exercise at least once a week’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 82: Those definitely agreeing that ‘i do some form of sport or exercise at least once a week’, students and non-students, 2003-07

Figure 83: Those participating in any individual or team sports, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 84: Opinion of, and use of, university sports facilities - students by gender, university year and type of university, May 2008

Appendix: Next Steps: Future Priorities and Plans

Figure 85: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i want to get to the very top in my career’, students and non-students, 2007

Figure 86: Those who ‘definitely agree’ that ‘i want to get to the very top in my career’, students and non-students, 2005-07

Figure 87: Salary band of uk-domiciled full-time graduages in full-time employment, by qualification level, 2006

Figure 88: Type of occupation of employed uk-domiciled graduates, by qualification level, 2006

Figure 89: Those definitely agreeing that ‘i don’t like the idea of being in debt’ - students, 2003-07

Figure 90: Average student debt, 2007

Figure 91: Agreement/disagreement that ‘i like to enjoy life and don’t worry about the future’ - students and non-students, 2007

Figure 92: Those agreeing that 'I like to enjoy life and don’t worry about the future' - students and non-students, 1998-2007

Abstract

New funding arrangements for higher education came into force in the autumn 2006.

These changes mean that:

• Students now pay higher tuition fees than before (typically just over £3,000 per academic year).
• The fees are paid for after graduation rather than at the beginning of each academic year as previously.
• Academic institutions are having to work harder than ever to ‘sell’ their courses to students and to ensure that concerns over higher fees do not cause student numbers to drop.
• The role of students as consumers of education - and of universities as businesses catering for them - is more sharply defined than it was in the past.

Mintel’s last report on this subject was published shortly before the new funding arrangements for education came into place, and took as its theme ‘Students as Consumers’.

It found that:

• Students were already aware of the ‘business-consumer’ relationship with their universities.
• They were philosophical about the prospect of debt after they graduated, which in itself did not impinge on their spending while they were studying.

This report takes the same theme and looks at how the new fee arrangements have affected the student consumer.

Key report themes:

• What can universities do to maximise student satisfaction?
• How can financial institutions help students to manage their money effectively?

In what ways can companies best cater for the needs of students - with particular emphasis on the following sectors:

• Food and grocery shopping
• Clothes, toiletries, make-up
• Technology
• Leisure

About MarketResearch.com
MarketResearch.com is an online aggregator selling over 250,000 market research reports, company profiles and country profiles from over 650 research firms. Our reports will provide you with the critical business and competitive intelligence you need for strategic planning and marketing research. Coverage includes the US, UK, Europe, Asia and global markets.