Washington Retail Report November / How teens spend their $$ across beauty, food, and fashion

Taylor Swift and TikTok are unquestionable favorites among teenagers, as revealed in Piper Sandler’s semiannual Taking Stock with Teens survey. However, the report offers intriguing insights into their current interests.

Based on responses from 9,193 teenagers, the survey indicates a slight dip in their spending, down 1% year-on-year and 4% from the spring. Piper Sandler’s senior research analyst, Edward Yruma, noted these “initial signs of a slowdown.” There’s a significant gender gap, with upper-income males increasing spending by 11% year-on-year while female spending decreased by 8%. Over the past year, teenagers have shifted their shopping preferences towards off-price and e-commerce retailers. Amazon is their favorite shopping website, displacing specialty, discount, and outlet stores.

Get Ready with Me (GRWM): Beauty products have become a hot commodity for teens. The “core beauty wallet” encompassing cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance has surged by 23%, averaging $324 annually. Cosmetics, in particular, take the lead, with an average expenditure of $127, marking the highest spending in this category since 2019. Specialized beauty retailers are reaping the benefits, hitting an all-time high of 79%, while purchases from mass, department, or drugstores reached a new low of 11%.

Snack Time: In the realm of food, Goldfish remains the top snack brand for teenagers, with Lay’s a close second. Regarding energy drinks, Monster leads the pack as the preferred brand, followed by Red Bull. However, Celsius, with only a 10% market share in the category, appears to be overindexing with teens, as 16% choose it as their favorite. Chick-fil-A continues to be the teenagers’ favorite restaurant, with Starbucks and McDonald’s following closely behind.