Piper Sandler Completes 44th Semi-Annual Generation Z Survey of 14,500 U.S. Teens

By: Piper Sandler Companies via Business Wire

October 11, 2022 at 09:35 AM EDT

Over 22 years of research on U.S. teens and GenZ insights
Teen “self-reported” spending was up 3% Y/Y to $2,331 and down 2% vs. last spring; parent contribution was 61% vs 60% last spring
For upper income teens, food was the No. 1 wallet priority for male spending at 23% share and clothing reached its highest level of female wallet share since 2012 at 30%
Teens care about social/political issues naming Environment as No. 1; Abortion as No. 2; Racial Equality as No. 3. Gun Control entered the top 10 this fall rising from No. 19 to No. 9
TikTok improved as the favorite social platform (38%) by +400 bps vs. last spring. SNAP was No. 2 at 30% (-100 bps vs spring) and Instagram was No. 3 at 20% (-200 bps vs. spring)
Nike remains the No. 1 brand for all teens in both apparel (31% share) and footwear (60% share)
Skincare held the highest priority of beauty spending at $103, followed by cosmetics at $96 and haircare at $91
52% of teens cite Amazon as their No. 1 favorite e-comm site; SHEIN, Nike, Lululemon, and Pacsun took spots No. 2-5
Bath & Body Works came in as the No. 1 (38%) fragrance brand among female teens; Victoria’s Secret as No. 2 (16%); Sol de Janeiro as No. 3 (6%)

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR), a leading investment bank, has completed its 44th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens^® survey in partnership with DECA. This survey highlights discretionary spending trends and brand preferences from 14,500 teens across 47 U.S. states with an average age of 15.8 years.

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This year’s Fall 2022 survey was conducted from August 12 to September 23. We received the highest number of responses from the South at 41%, followed by the Midwest at 32%, the West at 20% and the Northeast with 7%.

For the survey infographic and more information, visit pipersandler.com/teens

“Our Fall survey points to solid teen spending, up 3% Y/Y. Females continue to lead the growth in spending (clothing +10%, footwear +7%). The core beauty wallet (cosmetics, skincare, fragrance) grew 20% Y/Y, led by cosmetics (+28%). Everyday use of makeup continues to trend upward, and e.l.f. remains the dominant player at No. 1 for both average and upper income females. Fragrance is also proving its resilience, with category spend +21% Y/Y and ~2/3 of female teens noting fragrance usage everyday (Bath & Body Works a strong leader here). Within apparel, athletic is still the dominant trend, with Nike remaining strong and lululemon hitting new highs. Vans fell out of the top 10 favorite apparel brands. Interestingly, the athletic apparel trend may be peaking with 44% of upper-income teens preferring apparel brands that are “athletic,” flat to our Spring 2022 survey. Within footwear, Nike remains on top and Converse gained share at the expense of Adidas and Vans. Crocs and Hey Dude both moved higher in the rankings, but Dr. Martens continued to weaken. Coach remained top among handbag brands, with its lead versus number two brand Michael Kors expanding since the Spring 2022 survey. Fashion continues to shift, with leggings remaining strong, but interest in jeans and baggy/saggy pants continuing to weaken. Food remained the top spend category for males, and apparel remained top for females, with 30% wallet share among upper-income females hitting the highest levels since 2012. Favorite teen restaurants remained Chick-fil-A and Starbucks.

“GenZ is known to be a conscious generation, and teens this fall cited the environment as their top concern. 53% of consumers consider carbon footprint when making purchase decisions. Interestingly, the Russia/Ukraine invasion was the top concern in Spring 2022 but did not make the top 10 in Fall 2022. Abortion moved up to the No. 2 concern, followed by Racial Equality, Inflation and Gas Prices.

“TikTok widened its lead versus Snapchat as the favorite teen app, with Instagram remaining in third. However, Instagram continues to lead in monthly usage. On average, teens spent 4.4 hours on social media. Amazon remained the top destination for shopping, but SHEIN further solidified its No. 2 position” said Edward Yruma, senior research analyst.

Fall 2022 Key Findings

39% of teens hold a part-time job – steady with last spring and up from 38% in fall 2021
Females led increase in spending, with all female spend +10% Y/Y led by clothing +10% and footwear +7%
Teens allocate 7% of their shopping time to secondhand; 47% of teens have purchased & 58% have sold secondhand
Shopping channel shifts reflect more discount channel shopping (13%, +480 bps Y/Y), and less off-price (8%, -350 bps Y/Y)
The core beauty wallet (cosmetics, skincare, fragrance) stood at $264/year, up 20% Y/Y and led by cosmetics (+28% Y/Y)
Everyday makeup wearers are now at 41% (vs 33% LY), including 50% of upper-income teens wearing makeup everyday
Weekly usage of VR devices moved to 14% vs 17% last spring. 26% of teens own a VR device (in-line with spring)
Video games are 12% of teen wallet share vs. 14% LY; 30% expect to purchase a NextGen console within 2 years
Crocs increased from the No. 6 preferred footwear brand to No. 5 while Hey Dude is now ranked No. 7 up from No. 9 last spring
Converse gained 200 bps of mindshare, maintaining the No. 2 ranking, and Under Armour dropped out of the top 10
e.l.f. maintained its position as the No. 1 cosmetics brand, gaining 500 bps of share Y/Y to 16% of female teens
Ulta remained the No. 1 preferred beauty destination at 42% mindshare, and it also held the strongest beauty loyalty membership at 62% of female teens with a membership
Chick-Fil-A remains the No. 1 restaurant at 18% share (-200 bps Y/Y), followed by Starbucks at 17% (+600 bps Y/Y), and Chipotle at 13% (+300 bps Y/Y)
Teens plan to eat less plant-based meat; of the 14% of teens that do consume plant-based meat, 23% of teens plan to eat less plant-based meat, up from 17% in Fall 2021
Teens report highest intentions to eat more or the same amount of Nature Valley (GIS) and Clif (MDLZ); Goldfish (CPB) remained teens most preferred snack brand
Teens spend 32% of daily video consumption on Netflix (+200 bps vs spring) and 29% on YouTube (-200 bps vs spring)
Phone is the No. 1 preferred method by teens for customer service interaction; Text/SMS (18%) shows the best multi-year gains
87% of teens own an iPhone and 88% expect an iPhone to be their next phone; a record 31% of teens own an Apple Watch

The Piper Sandler Taking Stock With Teens^® survey is a semi-annual research project that gathers input from 14,500 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 Sandler has surveyed more than 233,400 teens and collected over 56 million data points on teen spending.

ABOUT PIPER SANDLER

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is a leading investment bank driven to help clients Realize the Power of Partnership®. Securities brokerage and investment banking services are offered in the U.S. through Piper Sandler & Co., member SIPC and NYSE; in the U.K. through Piper Sandler Ltd., authorized and regulated by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority; and in Hong Kong through Piper Sandler Hong Kong Ltd., authorized and regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission. Alternative asset management and fixed income advisory services are offered through separately registered advisory affiliates.

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Pamela Steensland

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pamela.steensland@psc.com