Piper Jaffray’s  38th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey shows Nike gaining share within its No. 1 rank and Lululemon hitting a new survey high as the No. 7 preferred apparel brand. Within footwear, Crocs also achieved a new survey record as the 7th preferred footwear brand, behind Birkenstock.

The top-five preferred footwear brands were Nike, 42 percent; Vans, 20 percent; Adidas, 13 percent; Converse, 4 percent; and Foot Locker, 3 percent. The top-five preferred clothing brands were Nike, 23 percent; American Eagle, 10 percent; Adidas, 6 percent; Hollister, 4 percent; and PacSun, 4 percent.

Other key broader findings:

  • Thirty-two percent of teens believe the economy is getting worse—higher than the 25 percent level in Fall 2018
  • Cosmetics spending for females hits 2019-survey low with spending down 21 percent Y/Y
  • Video games still gaining share now at 9 percent of total teen wallet vs. 8 percent last Fall
  • Food continues to be teen’s No. 1 wallet priority at 23 percent share; Chick-fil-A remains No. 1 restaurant for 4 consecutive surveys

“Our Fall Teen Survey continues to validate several characteristics of this digitally-native demographic: 83 percent of teens have an iPhone, 52 percent of teens claim Amazon as their favorite online shopping website, and we saw an acceleration of VSCO and TikTok mentions,” said Erinn Murphy, Piper Jaffray senior research analyst. “Importantly, however, we saw the lowest teen spending levels in eight years. The two most challenged categories were handbags and cosmetics as females reprioritize their spending with eating out and footwear/apparel. Broadly, the casualization of fashion continues: Nike gained share within its No. 1 rank and lululemon hit a new survey high as the No. 7 preferred apparel brand. Within footwear, Crocs also achieved a new survey record as the 7th preferred footwear brand.”

Fall 2019 Key Findings

Spending & Shopping Behavior

  • Food continues to be male teens’ No. 1 spending category (23 percent), clothing is female teens’ No. 1 wallet share (27 percent)
  • Amazon holds the majority of online shopping mindshare at 52 percent —13x higher than the No. 2 ranking, Nike
  • 91 percent of female teens preferred shopping for beauty in-store vs. online —consistent with historic trend
  • 89 percent of female teens use online influencers as a source of discovery for beauty brands and trends —Kylie Jenner ranks No. 2 “top influencer” and is the only beauty influencer in the top 10 this Fall
  • Female teens indicated they spend an average of $90/year on handbags — a new survey low and compares to peak spending of $197/year (Spring 2006)

Brand Preferences

  • Preppy brands such as Sperry, Ralph Lauren and Vineyard Vines continue to cede share to athletic brands —36 percent of preferred apparel brands are “athletic,” up from 34 percent last Fall
  • Chick-fil-A remains No. 1 restaurant for 4 surveys; Starbucks retains double-digit share
  • Lululemon hits all-time survey high (No. 7 preferred athletic apparel brand vs. No. 11 in Fall 2018)
  • Ulta maintains No. 1 preferred beauty destination against Sephora for second survey in a row
  • Teens spend 37 percent of their daily video consumption on YouTube, ahead of Netflix at 35 percent
    European luxury brands account for 30 percent of mindshare among preferred handbag brands (Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel)
  • iPhone ownership remains at 83 percent, 86 percent of teens expect an iPhone to be their next phone

The Piper Jaffray Taking Stock With Teens survey is a semi-annual research project that gathers input from thousands of teens with an average age of 15.8 years. Discretionary spending patterns, fashion trends, technology, and brand and media preferences are assessed through surveying a geographically diverse subset of high schools across the U.S. Since the project began in 2001, Piper Jaffray has surveyed over 180,000 teens and collected over 45.4 million data points on teen spending