Grandparents Emerge As Financial Lifelines For Kids Returning To School

Troy, NY (AHN) - There is a link between high spending on children's apparel and number of senior residents, according to Pitney Bowes Mapinfo, a demographic research firm.

Three of cities with high spending patterns on children's clothes have retirement homes for affluent grandparents. These are in Juneau, Alaska and West Palm Beach and Fort Myers in Florida.

Retailers even outside the three cities observed that grandparents from different economic classes have been extending more financial assistance to their children and grandchildren the past few years. This trend was noticed by Dan Butler, vice president of retail operations at the National Retail Federation, when prices of food, fuel and utilities skyrocketed.

To profit from this trend, retail outlets in Richmond, Virginia created a Grandparents Day promo to encourage them to spend more on children's wear. A 10 percent discount was given to senior citizens who show photos of their grandchildren.

The emergence of grandparents as financial fallback for school expenses, particularly clothing, followed a Deloitte survey released in July that 71 percent of parents plan to cut back on school clothes shopping this year.

Aside from asking granny and grandpa for some clothing allowance, students have also accepted cheap or second-hand clothes as a fashion statement in response to the hard times.