Investment bank Piper Sandler Companies completed its 45th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey* in partnership with Deca. The Piper Sandler survey highlights discretionary spending trends and brand preferences from 5,690 teens across 47 U.S. states with an average age of 16.2 years. This year’s Spring 2023 survey was conducted from February 13 to March 21. 

The South had the highest rate of responses at 43 percent, followed by the Midwest at 26 percent, the West at 22 percent, and the Northeast at 9 percent.

The survey points to solid teen spending, up 2 percent year-over-year (Y/Y). Males led the spending growth with an increase of 6 percent Y/Y.

The core beauty wallet (cosmetics, skincare ane fragrance) grew 19 percent Y/Y, led by cosmetics (+32 percent Y/Y). Everyday use of makeup continues to trend upward, with e.l.f. remaining the dominant brand at No. 1, gaining 900 bps of share Y/Y to 22 percent of female teens.

In apparel, Nike remains strong at No. 1, and Lululemon fell to No. 3. supplanted by America Eagle at No. 2. 

Nike remains on top within footwear, and Ugg broke into the Top 10 favorite footwear brands at No. 7, ranking No. 5 with all female teens. Crocs ranked No. 6, and Hey Dude ranked No. 8 among all teens.

Coach remained top among handbag brands, with Louis Vuitton coming in at No. 2 and Michael Kors dropping to No. 3.

Food remained the top spend category for males, and apparel remained top for females, with 28 percent wallet share among females. Favorite teen restaurants remained Chick-fil-A and Starbucks.

“TikTok remained the favorite teen app in Spring 2023, with Instagram following in third. Amazon remained the top destination for shopping, and Nike gained the No. 2 position,” said Edward Yruma, senior research analyst.

The Willow Project has overtaken Gen Z mindshare, ranking at No. 5 most important social/political issue in Spring 2023. Gen Z is a conscious generation and appears to care more about social justice and the environment than former generations. 

Teens this spring cited the environment as their top concern. Racial equality moved up to No. 2, followed by abortion, inflation and The Willow Project.

Piper Sandler’s Spring 2023 Survey Key Findings:

  • Spending among upper-income males increased 6 percent Y/Y; upper-income female spend increased 1 percent Y/Y;
  • Food was the No. 1 wallet priority for males at 24 percent share. Clothing was No. 1 for females at 28 percent;
  • Shopping channel preferences shifted to off-price (+500 bps Y/Y) and secondhand (+200 bps Y/Y);
  • The core beauty wallet (cosmetics, skincare and fragrance) stood at $313/year (+19 percent Y/Y), led by cosmetics (+32 percent Y/Y);
  • Weekly usage of VR devices stayed flat versus Fall 2022 at 14 percent; 29 percent of teens own a VR device;
  • Video games were 12 percent of male teen wallet share (versus 14 percent LY), and 32 percent expect to purchase a NextGen console within two years;
  • SQ’s Cash App ranked No. 1 most preferred peer-to-peer money transfer app at 41 percent versus PYPL’s Venmo at 39 percent;
  • For BNPL, teens said they used PayPal “Pay in 4” most frequently, followed by SQ’s Afterpay;
  • Apple Pay ranked No. 1 for payment apps used within the last month at 39 percent, followed by Cash App at 25 percent;
  • UGG broke into the Top 10 favorite footwear brands at No. 7, ranking No. 5 with all female teens;
  • Crocs ranked No. 6 and Hey Dude ranked No. 8 favorite footwear brands among all teens, both gaining ~25 bps of share Y/Y;
  • On Running and Hoka were the No. 12 and No. 19 favorite footwear brands, respectively, for all teens and the No. 5 and No. 4 favorite athletic footwear brands for upper-income teens, respectively;
  • e.l.f. remained the No. 1 cosmetics brand, increasing 900 bps Y/Y to 22 percent for female teens;
  • Specialty Retail for beauty purchases met the Spring 2021 high of 75 percent, and mass/dept./drug reached a new low of 12 percent;
  • Chick-fil-A remained the No. 1 favorite restaurant at 13 percent share, followed by Starbucks (12 percent) and Chipotle (7 percent);
  • 42 percent of teens consume, or are willing to try, plant-based meat versus 49 percent in Spring 2021;
  • Teens reported the highest intentions to eat more, or the same amount, of Cheez-It and Goldfish. Goldfish remained the most preferred snack brand;
  • Of the teens surveyed, 40 percent either consume or are willing to consume plant-based dairy;
  • 68 percent of teens have used Spotify for streaming services over the last six months, with 44 percent of teens opting to subscribe/pay for Spotify services;
  • Teens spend 31 percent of their daily video consumption on Netflix (+100 bps versus Fall 2022) and 28 percent on YouTube (-200 bps versus Fall 2022);
  • Phone is the No. 1 preferred method for customer service interaction. Text/SMS showed the highest multi-year gains; and
  • 87 percent of teens own an iPhone; 88 percent expect an iPhone to be their next phone and 35 percent own an Apple Watch.

*Piper Sandler Taking Stock With Teens survey is a semi-annual research project that gathers input from 5,690 teens with an average age of 16.2 years. Discretionary spending patterns, fashion trends, technology, and brand and media preferences are assessed by surveying a geographically diverse subset of high schools across the U.S. Since the project began in 2001, Piper Sandler has surveyed more than 239,000 teens and collected over 58 million data points on teen spending.

To read the full survey, go here. 

Photo courtesy Getty