Piper Sandler Completes 45th Semi-Annual Generation Z Survey of 5,690 U.S. Teens

• Piper Sandler now has more than 58 million data points around teen preferences and spending in the 22+ years of researching teens
• Teen “self-reported” spending was up 2% Y/Y to $2,419; parent contribution was 60% vs. 61% last Spring
• Food was the No. 1 wallet priority for male spending at 24% share, while clothing remains at the top of female wallet share at 28%, down 200 bps vs Fall 2022 when female clothing wallet share peaked at 30%
• Teens care about social/political issues ranking the environment No. 1 with 19% mindshare this Spring, up 400 bps vs. Fall 2022, and up 800 bps Y/Y
• TikTok declined as the favorite social platform (37% share) by 100 bps vs. Fall 2022. SNAP was No. 2 at 27% share, followed by Instagram (23% share)
• Nike remains the No. 1 brand for all teens in both apparel (33% share) and footwear (61% share)
• Cosmetics held the highest priority of beauty spending at $123, surpassing skincare for the first time since 2020
• Ulta remained the No. 1 preferred beauty destination at 41% share, and held the strongest beauty loyalty membership at 63% of female teens with a membership
• 57% of teens cite Amazon as their No. 1 favorite e-comm site; Nike, SHEIN, lululemon, and PacSun took spots No. 2-5

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR), a leading investment bank, has completed its 45th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens^® survey in partnership with DECA. This 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. We received the highest number of responses from the South at 43%, followed by the Midwest at 26%, the West at 22% and the Northeast with 9%.

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

“Our Spring 2023 survey points to solid teen spending, up 2% Y/Y. Males lead the growth in spending with an increase of 6% Y/Y. The core beauty wallet (cosmetics, skincare, fragrance) grew 19% Y/Y, led by cosmetics (+32% Y/Y). Everyday use of makeup continues to trend upward, and e.l.f. remains the dominant player at No. 1, gaining 900 bps of share Y/Y to 22% of female teens. Within apparel, Nike remains strong at No. 1 and lululemon fell to No 3. Within footwear, Nike remains on top, 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% 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, 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 known to be a conscious generation and appear to care more about social justice and the environment versus former generations. Teens this spring cited the environment as their top concern. Racial equality moved up to the No. 2 concern, followed by abortion, inflation and The Willow Project.

Spring 2023 Key Findings

• Spending among upper income males increased 6% Y/Y; UI female spend increased 1% Y/Y
• Food was the No. 1 wallet priority for males at 24% share; clothing was No. 1 for females at 28%
• Shopping channel preferences shifted to Off-Price (+500 bps Y/Y) and Secondhand (+200 bps Y/Y)
• The core beauty wallet (cosmetics, skincare, fragrance) stood at $313/year (+19% Y/Y), led by cosmetics (+32% Y/Y)
• Weekly usage of VR devices stayed flat vs Fall 2022 at 14%; 29% of teens own a VR device
• Video games are 12% of male teen wallet share (vs. 14% LY), and 32% expect to purchase a NextGen console within 2 years
• SQ’s Cash App ranked No. 1 most preferred peer-to-peer money transfer app at 41% vs. PYPL’s Venmo at 39%
• 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%, followed by Cash App at 25%
• 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 brand among all teens, both gaining ~25 bps of share Y/Y
• On Running and Hoka One One were No. 12 and No. 19 favorite footwear brands respectively for all teens and No. 5 and No. 4 favorite athletic footwear brands for upper income teens respectively
• e.l.f. remains the No. 1 cosmetics brand, increasing 900 bps Y/Y to 22% for female teens
• Specialty Retail for beauty purchases met the Spring 2021 high of 75% and mass/dept/drug reached a new low of 12%
• Chick-fil-A remains the No. 1 favorite restaurant at 13% share, followed by Starbucks (12%), and Chipotle (7%)
• 42% of teens consume or are willing to try plant-based meat, vs. 49% in Spring 2021
• Teens report highest intentions to eat more or the same amount of Cheez-It and Goldfish; Goldfish remain most preferred snack brand
• Of the teens surveyed, 40% either consume or are willing to consume plant-based dairy.
• 68% of teens have used Spotify for streaming services over the last 6 months, with 44% of teens opting to subscribe/pay for Spotify services
• Teens spend 31% of daily video consumption on Netflix (+100 bps vs Fall 2022) and 28% on YouTube (-200 bps vs Fall 2022)
• Phone is the No. 1 preferred method for customer service interaction; Text/SMS shows the best multi-year gains
• 87% of teens own an iPhone; 88% expect an iPhone to be their next phone; 35% 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 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 239,000 teens and collected over more than 58 million data points on teen spending.

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Pamela Steensland

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Source: Piper Sandler Companies