NEW YORK, NY July 20 – Students are getting ready to go back to school, and their moms are helping them decide what to wear. Even if mom doesn’t accompany her kids to the store, she definitely has input. Teens know if she doesn’t approve their purchases, the items are going straight back to the store.

“For high school students in particular, mom is the style gatekeeper. Not only does she hold the purse strings, she also won’t let her child out of the house if she doesn’t think his or her outfit is appropriate,” said Melanie Shreffler, editor-in-chief, Ypulse, the leading authority on youth culture and markets.

Nearly one in five high school and college students (18%) prefer shopping with their moms to anyone else, including their friends, according to a recent Ypulse survey. The bond between high school girls and their moms is strongest, with 33% preferring to shop with mom.

“Why do they like shopping with mom so much? Sure, they like that she pays for things, but also that she gives them an honest opinion,” said Ypulse’s Ms. Shreffler. (see Figure 1).

Methodology

The results of this Ypulse Report are drawn from 1,300 interviews conducted among members of the SurveyU panel between May 20 and May 30, 2011.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have registered to participate in surveys for SurveyU, a Ypulse-owned online research panel. Quotas were established based on gender, state, class year, and race. The data have been weighted using National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data to reflect the demographic composition of U.S. high school and college students.