Purpose -This paper seeks to shed light on the behaviors of a group of consumers referred to as "tween", a sub-group of Generation Y, described as pre-adolescents, aged 9 to 15, who are be"tween" the children and juniors markets, by taking previously tested measures and applying them to "tween" girls. The work of Blackwell et al. indicates that individual tastes and preferences are expected to have an effect on to whom tweens look for purchasing cues. Design/methodology/approach -The first section of the survey included demographic items consisting of tweens' age, grade level and race. Section two of the survey consisted of nine items used to determine the influence of two reference groups: parents and friends. Items adapted from the personal involvement index were used to measure the personal involvement of tweens in apparel purchases. Store patronage was measured by assessing the frequency with which participants patronized each of eight given retail settings.Findings -Future research should replicate or adapt the study to a larger sample in order to determine the strength of the relationships, since the majority of the respondents were between the ages of 12 to 15, leaving younger tweens under-represented. Originality/value -The results reveal that tweens exhibit a high level of fashion interest and that fashion interest is the only variable in the study to have significant relationships with each of the other variables.

Teaching retailing principles to students is a challenge because although real-world wholesale and retail decision making very heavily depends on dynamic conditions, classroom exercises are limited to abstract discussions and role-playing. This article describes two interlocking class projects taught using the virtual reality of secondlife.com, which allowed students to use their recently gained skills in wholesaling and retailing. The exercises provided students with unique educational experiences without the need of "bricks and mortar" product development, wholesale, or retail spaces. This spurred students' creativity and entrepreneurship. Students described the simulations as "fun" and "interesting." Students also reported a greater depth of learning as a result of participating in the virtual simulation. This article describes the interdisciplinary team efforts to develop educational experiences for students. It also uses previous research in virtual reality implementation for classroom use to provide a framework for assessing the credibility of the set of assignments.

This paper explores the use of simulations in virtual reality to teach students the fundamental processes behind retailing and product development. The project described involved one class of students who developed their own clothing lines of "virtual merchandise." A second class of students then "purchased" the wholesale virtual goods and developed their own storefronts to sell the virtual clothing to students posing as personal shoppers. The design of the collaborative project allowed students to experience the processes for retailing goods. This paper explores the design, setup, and results from this highly exploratory classroom experience.