Athletic Clothing is on display inside a Lululemon Athletica store.
Xaume Olleros | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Teenagers are spending more and changing their shopping habits, even as they worry about growing economic uncertainty, according to a new study.
Athletic clothing brands such as Lululemon and Nike that combine comfort and fashion to win over traditional clothing labels, Piper Sandler’s annual “Taking Stock with Teens” report released Wednesday.
Many teens say they are either uncertain or so-called metavers – not interested in the idea of buying products through a virtual real experience. Retailers including Nike, PacSun, Forever 21 and Ralph Lauren have all dipped their toes into emerging technologies.
A growing number of teens say they’re much more familiar with NFT, or non-fungible, tokens than they were last fall, when only a small percentage actually bought one.
But they are increasingly concerned about the Russian war in Ukraine, the survey said, and are less concerned with the Kovid-19 epidemic.
The results of the biennial survey have implications for businesses interested in winning this generation of dollars. This is especially true now with the economic environment puzzled by uncertainty.
Teenagers plan to spend about $ 2,367 this year on everything from fast food meals and video games to handbags and sneakers, Piper Sandler has been found, or an estimated total of $ 66 billion. This is 9% higher than the spending level reported in the Spring 2021 report and 4% higher than the Piper Sandler Fall survey. In the spring of 2006, the annual expenditure reported by adolescents reached about $ 3,023.
Piper Sandler surveyed 7,100 teens from February 16 to March 22. The average age of the surveyed was 16.2 and the average household income was $ 69,298. Twenty-nine percent of the teens surveyed were part-time employed, up from 38% last fall and 33% last spring.
Concerns about the economy are growing
Although the level of adolescent spending has steadily improved since the fall of 2020, businesses can still derail growth and raise the question of whether consumers will hold back on their spending.
About 71% of teens reported to Piper Sandler that they believe the U.S. economy is getting worse, 56% of those who felt that way last fall, and 46% last spring.
When asked which political or social issues were most important to them, the top response of teenagers was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 13%. Which was followed by the environment, at 11%; Racial equality, at 10%; Gas prices, at 10%; And inflation, at 4%.
Coronavirus has dropped significantly from the list of the top 10 concerns of teens, after being ranked fourth in the Piper Sandler survey last fall and last spring.
Piper Sandler consumer analyst Matt Eleger noted that the constant concern among the generation Z consumers about the environment is good for rental platforms such as Rent the Runway and Threadup and The Real Real.
Nike, Amazon holds the top spot
Meanwhile, Nike remains the No. 1 favorite clothing brand among teenagers, retaining an impressive 11 years. This has further widened its margins as the preferred footwear brand among General Z buyers, ahead of Converse, Adidas, Van, New Balance and Crocs, according to the survey.
American Eagle has retained its place as the second-favorite clothing brand for teenagers, followed by Lululemon, which has risen to number one on the list since the previous year. Fast-fashion retailer H&M has risen from ninth to fourth place a year ago. Adidas is in fifth place.
Overall, the athletic brands mentioned in the survey published on Wednesday accounted for 44% of the clothing labels preferred by teenagers, with Piper Sandler seeing the highest levels for this category. This aligns with a wide range of changes among consumers during the epidemic, extending the wear around the home and towards more loose clothing. And many teens are still incorporating athletic brands into their outfits, even after returning to school and the office.
Shin, a Chinese e-commerce fashion behemoth that weighs a fund round about $ 100 billion in valuations, ranks seventh for teens buying clothes of their choice, down from sixth in the fall of 2021 but above the eighth last spring.
According to a Piper Sandler survey, women continue to spend heavily on men for clothing, with men spending about $ 51 more each year on shoes than women.
Overall, Amazon remains by far the most popular website for shopping, with 52% to 53% share last fall. Shane remains in second place, but the teenage preference portion has dropped from 9% to 8%. Other retailers on the list were Nike, Paxan, Lululemon and Princess Polly, respectively.
When it comes to metaways and platforms such as Roblox or Decentraland, 26% of teens report that they own some sort of virtual reality device, of which only 5% use it every day. Forty-eight percent said they were either uncertain or not interested in metavers.