Campus Marketing Statistics: UK Data, Trends and Benchmarks

The UK has more than two million students in higher education, according to HESA, and each September a new intake arrives at a predictable time and in predictable places. Official data sizes that audience; Dig In’s survey programme, with over a million responses since 2016, shows how students respond when brands reach them. The headline benchmark: the median brand in Dig In’s 2025 surveys saw 85% of students say they were likely to buy again after trying the product (24 surveys).

Key points

• HESA, UCAS and ONS size the student audience. They do not measure how students respond to marketing.

• Arrival is concentrated: Dig In reaches 500,000 students each September, around 3 in 4 freshers, in 1,000+ halls.

• Median purchase intent after trial was 85% in 2025 (24 surveys) and 88% in 2026; 96% would recommend (2025, 20 surveys).

• Money is tight: only 30% feel confident managing money (Student Futures Index 2026, Dig In with We Are Futures, 1,086 students).

• Many widely shared campus marketing statistics have no traceable source. Check before you quote.

Why most campus marketing statistics need checking

Most "student marketing statistics" content falls into one of two camps: official data that never mentions marketing, or marketing round-ups that rarely cite a primary source. This page keeps to figures with a named source. Where we were unable to trace a commonly quoted number, we have left it out.

The UK student audience

For enrolment, subject and provider data, go to HESA. For applications and acceptances at each point in the admissions cycle, go to UCAS. Three things in that data matter most for brand planning:

• Scale: more than two million students are enrolled in UK higher education.

• Mix: most students are UK-domiciled, and international students are concentrated in postgraduate study.

• Subjects: business and management is the largest subject area, which matters for brands in finance, careers and professional services.

The practical point: a campaign built only around "Freshers" targets one slice of the population. Returning students, postgraduates and international students need different messages and different moments.

How concentrated the arrival moment is

First-year undergraduates arrive within a few weeks of each other, and many of them live in halls. That makes them unusually easy to reach in person. Dig In’s 2026 distribution shows the scale:

• 500,000 students each September.

• Around 3 in 4 freshers, measured against HESA first-year entrants.

• 1,000+ halls of residence at 160+ universities.

• 90+ towns and cities across the UK and Ireland.

• 300,000 bags planned for Refreshers in January.

Students value it, too: 88.7% said the Welcome Bag improved their welcome, rating it 4.3 out of 5 (2024, n=48,991).

How students respond to sampling

The Dig In Trial Benchmark is built from 196 brand surveys for 161 brands since 2018. Medians for the typical brand:

• 85% of students likely to buy again (2025, 24 surveys).

• 88% likely to buy again (2026).

• 96% would recommend the product (2025, 20 surveys).

• 8.8 out of 10 for taste (2025, 18 surveys).

These are stated intentions from surveys, not sales. They show trial landing well and give a reference point for any single brand’s result.

Named campaign results

• Coca-Cola, 2026: 8,225 survey responses across seven surveys; 89.9% likely to buy Original and Zero (n=3,019); 51.0% prefer zero or reduced sugar (n=3,393).

• Gillette and Venus, 2024: 87.4% likely to buy Gillette (Freshers 2024, n=1,703) and 90.2% for Venus (n=3,530).

• Nivea Soft, 2024: 87.6% likely to buy again and 98% would recommend (NIVEA Freshers 2024, n=2,986).

• Hershey’s and Reese’s, 2024: 89.7% likely to buy again (Hershey’s & Reese’s Freshers 2024, n=3,381).

• Boots, 2024: 82.5% likely to shop at Boots (Freshers 2024, n up to 6,093).

• Santander, 2025: 500,000 totes, with 96% still carried weeks later (n=50,000), according to Santander’s End of Campaign Report.

Full write-ups are in Dig In’s results.

Student money

The Student Futures Index 2026, from Dig In with We Are Futures (1,086 students), found that 88% say managing money is an important life skill and only 30% feel confident managing money. Save the Student’s National Student Money Survey and the Department for Education’s Student Income and Expenditure Survey both show the Maintenance Loan falling short of living costs for many students.

That makes free trial and real value land harder than premium messaging with a student discount added on.

What the data means for budget allocation

1. Timing beats volume. The admissions calendar is fixed and public. Spend concentrated around arrival in September and the January restart reaches students when they are making choices, so it outperforms a budget spread evenly across the year.

2. Trial deserves a bigger share. With median purchase intent after trial of 85% in 2025 and 88% in 2026, sampling is often under-weighted relative to what it returns.

3. Density is a targeting advantage. Halls put thousands of first-years in a small number of buildings, which makes in-person reach efficient.

4. Price pressure should shape creative. With only 30% of students feeling confident managing money, messages built on real value, free trial and usefulness land better.

5. First-year acquisition has a long tail. Arrival coincides with the first weekly shop and the first choice of bank and phone network, so a well-timed activation competes for a default that can last the whole degree.

Sources

• HESA: UK student enrolments, subjects, providers and demographics.

• UCAS: applications and acceptances by deadline, domicile, age and region.

• ONS: youth population and regional context.

• Department for Education Student Income and Expenditure Survey: student income and spending.

• Save the Student National Student Money Survey: an annual survey of student spending and loan shortfalls.

• Dig In survey store: brand surveys and student surveys since 2016. See how we measure.

Questions brands ask

How many university students are there in the UK?

HESA counts more than two million students in UK higher education. For brands focused on first-years arriving in September, Dig In reaches 500,000 students each year, around 3 in 4 freshers.

What is a good purchase intent score for a student sampling campaign?

Compare with the median: across Dig In’s brand surveys, 85% of students said they were likely to buy again in 2025 (24 surveys) and 88% in 2026. A result above the median means the product landed better than the typical brand.

Where do Dig In’s statistics come from?

From Dig In’s own survey programme, with over a million survey responses since 2016, run after campaigns and through the Welcome Bag. Each figure on this page carries its year and sample size.

Working with Dig In

Dig In has reached students arriving at university since 2015 and measures every campaign against its own benchmarks. If you want to size the opportunity for your category, ask us for the relevant data.