University freshers will be calling on ‘bank of mum and dad’ as they start the new semester, with 62% of students hoping their parents will cover university essentials and tech equipment, according to new research.
A UK survey of 1,031 students by GlobalWebIndex has found 62% are hoping to call upon the so called ‘Bank of Mum & Dad’ for support getting their university essentials – including laptops and mobile phones – before term time.
Key findings:
- 62% of students hope parents will cover essentials and tech equipment for university
- 32% of parents will to spend £500+ on their child ahead of term
- 76% of students are worried about their mental health and well-being
In tandem, the survey interviewed 280 parents of students to quantify how much preparing their child for a year at university costs. According to the findings, 65% of parents are willing to spend in excess of £200, while 32% estimate their spending will surpass £500.
In exchange, parents have a large degree of control over the essentials that students head to uni with – something freshers are quite happy with. Almost half (49%) of respondents will be actively seeking parents’ guidance when it comes to decisions over essentials and technology.
However, it may be some time before retailers see this revenue. Given the expense, over a quarter (29%) of parents would rather send their child to university with the essentials and wait for Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales to purchase all the tech equipment their child would want or need.
Hard times for freshers
While still dependent on their parents to get set up, the primary focus for students (45%) is to look for part-time jobs to save money, closely following by organising their finances, including setting clear spending budgets and becoming accustomed to bills (44%).
Crucially, this puts finances ahead of looking through course material and going through recommended reading lists before the start of term (43%).
Another facet to starting and returning to university is the move to greater independence and need to look after oneself. While over half (57%) of students will be taking the opportunity to reinvent their look when going to university, three quarters (76%) of students express feelings of anxiety or fear highlighting concerns over their own mental health and well-being.
Chase Buckle, senior trends analyst, GlobalWebIndex, comments “Heading off to university is a stressful time for students and parents alike. What’s clear is that brands and retailers need a thoughtful strategy that speaks to both audiences, as both play a key role in the preparations taking place at this time of year. With so many parents waiting for Black Friday and Cyber Monday to pick up more expensive tech items, emphasizing value is another key consideration.”
Among the respondents were 1,031 UK students going to/back to university and 280 UK parents of students going to/back to university.
Source: GlobalWebIndex
