I was already running behind schedule this morning when "Today'' show co-host Matt Lauer got me even further off-track. Consider this, as I did while rooting through the closet for my black high-heeled shoes:

Tweens account for $43 billion in spending power.

Seventy, that's 70, percent of them want their own credit card.

Tweens watch, on average, 40,000 TV commercials every year.

Sixty-seven percent of them wear popular, or the right, labels out of fear of being teased.

And the peer pressure isn't something to scoff at: about one-third are teased.

The stats were part of a segment with Martin Lindstrom, author of "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.'' In a report on his focus group of boys and girls, ages 9 to 11, it quickly became evident that kids know the big-name labels. And they're well-aware of which ones suggest wealth, status and an easier time at school.

I guess that's good news for the folks pushing everything from video games to jeans. A bit more sobering for parents and, in the end, the tweens themselves. I have some questions for my daughter, and all of this will be information I'm going to put to the test when we begin our back-to-school shopping.

It also made me think hard about my own buying habits and whether I'm overly influenced by a name, or a particular brand. Might be a good time for me to do some self-examination my own.

Thoughts, anyone?