Back-to-School Shoppers Choose Characters

For the first time this year, the National Retail Federation surveyed parents of K-12 students about plans to purchase character-themed merchandise for back-to-school.   The NRF found that nearly half (43.4 percent) planned to purchase at leas

April 6, 2018

The NRF found that nearly half (43.4 percent) planned to purchase at least one character item, with Star Wars and Disney’s Cars property taking the top slots for boys, while Dora the Explorer and Hello Kitty occupy the top of the list for girls. SpongeBob SquarePants was the only character that made the top ten for both boys and girls.

“While parents are deciding how much to spend, kids are often making the final decisions on which specific items to buy,” says Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights director, BIGresearch. “Characters like Disney’s Cars and Dora the Explorer, along with many private label brands that appeal to today’s students, are helping retailers set themselves apart as the final days of the back-to-school season approach.”

For a full list of the top ten characters, visit

http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Documents&op=showlivedoc&sp_id=6861

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