Consumers in the Northeast Shop Early, but Hold Proms Latest in the Season

    NEW YORK, NY, May 14, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Today, Occasion Brands, LLC (OB), releases the fifth 2019 issue of Pulse of Prom to exploring how much time junior and senior prom dress buyers allow between ordering online and their event. The data shows that the median number of days between the order date and the consumer-reported event date for junior and senior prom is between 32 and 34 days. Buyers in the Northeast region of the U.S., have the latest proms and purchase their dresses further in advance of their proms than buyers in any other region. The median number of days between the order date and event date for the Northeast is 47. These purchasers may buy early recognizing that their late scheduled dates for prom may leave them with fewer choices of dress styles and a smaller size selection.

To gather the data OB compared the actual order dates with the event dates provided by purchasers when they placed their orders. Of the reported data, junior prom dress sales represented 42% of total sales, while senior prom dress sales were 58%. Purchasers across the U.S. reported dates for junior and senior prom as early as the week of February 25th and as late as the week of July 22nd. Reported event dates for the Northeast extended into June and July; whereas, no prom dates in other regions were reported beyond the week of June 3rd.

Majority of Junior and Senior Proms Held April 1st to May 13th
Although junior and senior proms were reported as occurring as early as the week of February 25th and as late as the week of July 22nd, 82% of consumer-reported prom dates fell between the week of April 1st and the week of May 13th. The most popular week in 2019 for both junior and senior proms was the week of April 29th, representing 18% of all reported prom dates. The week with the smallest percentage (6%) of scheduled proms between the weeks of April 1st and May 13th was the week of April 15th, which was the Catholic Easter and Passover weekend. Outside of those 7 weeks, the remaining 18% of prom dates reported for 2019 were divided evenly: 9% were between the week of February 25th and the week of April 1st and 9% were between the week of May 20th and the week of July 22nd. Across the U.S., prom dates reported for each region similarly showed that the majority of junior and senior proms were scheduled in April and May.

Northeast Proms Are Held the Latest
Looking at regional data across the U.S., both junior and senior proms in the Northeast are held later in the season than in any other region.The Northeast is the only region with junior prom dates reported through the week of June 17th. The Pacific only has junior prom dates reported through the week of May 13th, and in the Midwest, junior proms are reported through the week of May 20th. The South and West have junior prom dates reported through the week of May 27th. In the West, Midwest, South, and Northeast, senior proms ran later into the season than junior proms (except the Pacific, which had the same final week for junior and senior prom). Senior proms end the earliest in the Pacific (AL, HI), with no reported prom dates after the week of May 13th. The Midwest, South, and West only have reported senior prom dates through the week of June 3rd; however, the Northeast has senior prom dates through the week of June 24th. In fact, in the Northeast, 32% of reported senior prom dates were between the weeks of May 27th and June 24th; whereas, only 5% of senior prom dates in the West (only 2% in the Midwest and South) were reported after May 27th.

Most Consumers Purchase a Dress Online One Month Before Prom
The median number of days between the order date and the consumer-reported event date for junior and senior prom is between 32 and 34 days. With the most popular event dates for junior and senior prom reported for the week of April 22 and week of April 29, the median number of 32 to 34 days puts the peak buying weeks for junior prom and senior prom dresses in the last two weeks in March, the week of March 18th and the week of March 25th. For the prom dates reported as early as the week of February 25th, this means prom dress buying starts at the end of January for buyers with early proms and goes through June for consumers with late proms.

Northeast Shoppers Purchase Dresses the Furthest in Advance of Prom
In addition to having prom dates scheduled later in the season than buyers in any other region of the US, consumers in the Northeast shop for their dresses the furthest in advance of their event date. The median number of days between order date and event date for junior prom in the Northeast is 43, and the median number of days for senior prom in the Northeast is 53. Consumers in the Midwest also shop early allowing a median of 32 days for junior prom and 40 days for senior prom between placing their order and the event. For the South, the median difference between order dates and event dates was 27 days for junior prom and 30 days for senior prom. The regions with the shortest turnaround time between the prom dress purchase and the event were the Pacific, with a median of 25 days for junior prom and for senior prom, and the West, with a median of 23 days for junior prom and 26 days for senior prom.

About Pulse of Prom
Pulse of Prom is an in-season industry-focused hot-sheet report which highlights prom season online sales trends across each region of the country. This late season issue focuses on regional sales data for when consumers buy junior and senior prom dresses, as well as the reported dates for prom. The next issue will feature a wrapup of end of season data.

The Data
The data for these 2019 prom sales represents orders placed between January 1 and May 3, 2019, and event dates reported by consumers as between March 1 and July 31, 2019. All data is across the United States by Occasion Brands, a leading national online prom retailer.

For more information about Pulse of Prom, please contact: Megan Reeves at [email protected].

About Occasion Brands, LLC
PromGirl, founded in 1998, has sold over 2 million dresses online and is the largest online retailer of prom, homecoming, and other special-occasion dresses. It offers an unparalleled selection of high-quality, in-stock dresses at all price points. Through the website, mobile and social platforms, PromGirl's reach is global, delivering "dream dresses" to more than 140 international destinations. As part of the Occasion Brands portfolio, PromGirl supports the Occasion Brands mission to be the premier retailer in the special-occasion dress market by providing a world-class shopping experience and maintaining customer trust through an understanding of their needs as they experience some of the most important moments in their lives. Occasion Brands' staff is based in New York City and Middletown, Delaware, and its state-of-the-art facility in New Jersey houses hundreds of thousands of dresses for PromGirl and its sister brands, Simply Dresses and Kleinfeld Bridal Party. In 2018, Occasion Brands expanded its reach by opening a PromGirl pop-up store in New Jersey, a Simply Dresses pop-up store in New York City, and a Kleinfeld Bridal Party Showroom located on the upper level of the Kleinfeld Bridal store.

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