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08/09/2009 -
College students represent a huge spending demographic for merchants, with the latest Alloy Media + Marketing's College Explorer survey revealing that the demographic is larger than ever, and has a record high level of discretionary spending.The ninth annual survey found that this year's college class is the largest in history, representing 13.8 million students in the U.S. alone.
In addition, college students have a record high amount of spending power - $250 billion, an increase of 6 percent from the previous year - and do a record amount of discretionary spending - $56 billion, an increase of 37 percent over the past four years.
"This year's survey offers an important view of the impact a challenging economic period has had on this ever-growing college market," said Dana Markow, vice president and senior consultant of Harris Interactive, the research firm that conducted the survey. "They continue to spend their hard earned discretionary dollars and a large number express optimism for a brighter economic future."
When considered with other recent research indicating that college students are borrowing more than ever, this study highlights how important it is for merchants to be accessible to this large spending demographic through accepting credit cards.
