• by Sarah Mahoney , October 10, 2023

Harlem's Lite Feet Nation

American teens are spending more carefully these days, with the latest “Taking Stock of Teens” survey showing a 1% decline in annual spending to $2,316. Although the decrease is slight, investment company Piper Sandler says it is the first dip in the semiannual survey since before COVID-19.

Otherwise, not much changed in terms of teens’ ultimate brand favorites. Nike held on to the long-running No. 1 spot in apparel and footwear, commanding 35% and 61% of mindshare, respectively.

E.L.F. Beauty didn’t just remain in the top spot in the cosmetic category. It dramatically widened its lead, increasing 13 points, year over year, to 29% for all female teens. (Selena Gomez’ Rare Beauty is No. 2.) Chick-fil-A is again the highest-ranked restaurant, with a 16% share.

The iPhone continues to reign, owned by 87% of teens in the survey, with 88% expecting their next phone to be from Apple, too.

The research, which polled more than 9,000 teens with an average age of 15.7 years, also checks in with kids about issues on their minds. Inflation has bubbled up to become the second-biggest worry, right after the environment. Racial equality, abortion and the economy remain the top five concerns.

About 37% of the kids in the survey are working part-time, down from 40% in the spring survey.

Boys spent more, with their upper-middle-class expenditures rising 11% from last year.

Female spending fell 8% overall, with decreases in shoes (down 5%) and apparel (down 9%.) But spending on accessories increased, and beauty spending held at $324 a year, including a 33% jump year-over-year in cosmetics.

Sephora sailed past Ulta Beauty as the favorite beauty shopping destination.

In other shifts, New Balance surpassed Vans as the No. 4 favorite footwear brand, following Nike, Converse and Adidas. Among upper-middle-class teens, On Running and Hoka One One, No. 8 and No. 13 in the overall sample, soared to No. 5 and No. 3.

TikTok solidified its status as the favorite social media platform, followed by Snap, with Instagram coming in third.

Taylor Swift is currently teens' favorite celebrity, followed by Adam Sandler, Drake, Ryan Reynolds and Kanye West.