Gone are the days of old clothes and toys being passed down from elder to younger siblings, and pocket money being saved up to spend at the Royal Show.

Kids these days are an influential consumer segment, with more spending power than ever and strong opinions on what’s cool and what’s not. So which shops are tops with Aussie kids in 2015? The latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Young Australians Survey reveal all…

Most popular of the lot is Kmart, visited by a whopping 56% of Australian children aged 6-13 in any given four weeks. Its rival discount department store giants, Target (55%) and Big W (54%) aren’t far behind — but from there, it’s a steep drop to JB Hi-Fi (28%) in fourth spot and The Reject Shop (26%) in fifth. A diverse selection of retailers spanning Rebel Sport (22%), Best & Less (20%), Myer (18%), Officeworks (16%) and Cotton On (13%) completes the Top 10.

Ten shops most visited by Aussie kids

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), July 2014 – June 2015 (n=2,622).

However, if we look at the stores most visited by boys and girls specifically, rather than children in general, the order of popularity varies substantially.

For example, although the ‘Big Three’ discount department stores take out the top three spots for both genders, Target (61%) attracts the greatest proportion of girls, while Big W (54%) does the same for boys. Kmart — despite being number one overall — is second in each case! (Which just goes to show the power of averages)

Shops most visited: girls vs boys

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), July 2014 – June 2015 (n=2,622). Base: Australian children 6-13

Boys are more likely than girls to visit specialist retailers, such as home entertainment store JB Hi-Fi (33% vs 22% of girls) and sportswear/equipment chain Rebel Sport (25% vs 19%); whereas girls outnumber boys when it comes to visiting department and variety stores such as The Reject Shop (30% vs 23% of boys), Best & Less (25% vs 15%) and Myer (21% vs 15%). It is certainly interesting to see this pattern, which is also evident among Australian men and women aged 14+, established at such an early age.

Of course, a child’s age also influences what they like to spend their money on (and consequently, what kind of stores they visit). For kids aged between six and nine years, toys top the list; among their slightly older counterparts in the 10-13 bracket, priorities shift to console and computer games (for the boys) and clothes (for the girls).

Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Anyone who’s seen one of Kmart’s funky, brightly-coloured TV advertisements or one of Target’s positively cinematic ‘Greatest Toy Sale on Earth’ ads would not be surprised to learn that these two stores are among the retailers most visited by Australian kids (accompanied, presumably, by their parents at least some of the time). These retail giants clearly know how to spark their target market’s imagination – and have the budget to make it happen.

“There’s no doubt that the Australian retail industry takes children seriously as a consumer group. Not only do kids have their own money to spend, but they know what they like, they’re willing to save for big-ticket items, and some even have some say in their parents’ purchasing decisions."