Diner Demographics: College Students-Strength in Numbers

More than 17 million college students represent nearly $200 billion in spending power per year.

By Derek Gale, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 9/15/2007

For college students, the time-and-convenience factor ranks No. 1 when considering where to eat outside the home, reveals the 2006 Nutritional DiningStyles survey conducted by Philadelphia-based Aramark.

And college students eat outside the home frequently, especially at lunch. The same research shows that this group eats nearly four lunches away from home in an average week—59% more than the average consumer.

College life and fast food have long gone together, so it should come as no surprise that people ages 18 to 24 are more likely than older consumers to be super-heavy users of quick-serve restaurants, according to research from Los Angeles-based Sandelman & Associates.

With their preference for convenient foodservice, college students also are more likely to use drive-thru, delivery and carryout services, according to R&I’s New American Diner Study.

Info On Demand

College students are heavy users of consumer electronics—93% own a cell phone, and 58% own an MP3 player, according to Alloy Media + Marketing’s 2007 Alloy College Explorer Study.

"College students’ appetite for information and immediacy shows no signs of slowing," says John Geraci, vice president for youth and education research at Rochester, N.Y.-based Harris Interactive, which administers the Alloy survey.

Savvy Consumers

Some 75% of college students hold a job during the school year, the 2007 College Explorer survey shows, and many students receive financial assistance from their parents as well—the combination providing many of them with a healthy level of discretionary income (the survey shows annual discretionary spending among college students at $48 billion and overall spending power at $198 billion).

"College students are not poor," Geraci says. "[They] are smart, value-conscious consumers, heavily weighing cost and quality in their purchasing decisions."

Brand image matters too. The 2007 College Explorer survey finds that 37% of students are more likely to purchase brands they consider to be socially and environmentally responsible.

Advertising messages from peers and other consumers hold the greatest appeal for college students, the 2007 College Explorer survey finds: More than six in 10 students say word-of-mouth advertising most influences their purchasing decisions.