87% of U.S. Teens Own an iPhone [Report]

87% of teens in the United States own an iPhone, according to the latest Fall 2022 Taking Stock With Teens survey from Piper Sandler.

The 44th semi-annual Generation Z survey of 14,500 U.S. teens aims to assess discretionary spending patterns, fashion trends, technology, and brand and media preferences.

Notably, the survey found that 88% of teens expect the iPhone to be their next phone and 31% of teens already own an Apple Watch.




Check out some highlights of the report...


Demographics & Spending:
● Our 44th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey was conducted between August 12 and September 23
● Regional responses were 41% in the South, 20% in the West, 32% in the Midwest and 7% in the Northeast
● 39% of teens hold a part-time job – steady with last Spring and up from 38% in Fall 2021
● 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
● Females led the increase in teen spending, with all female spend up 10% Y/Y, which was driven by clothing (+10% Y/Y) and footwear (+7% Y/Y)
● 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% share
● Teens allocate 7% of their shopping time to secondhand; 47% have purchased secondhand; 58% have sold secondhand
● Shopping channel preferences, among all upper income teens, shifted more toward discount channels (13% share, +483 bps Y/Y) and less toward off-price channels (9% share, -346 bps Y/Y)
● The core beauty wallet (cosmetics, skincare, fragrance) stood at $264/year (+20% Y/Y), led by cosmetics (+28% Y/Y)
● Skincare held the highest priority of beauty spending at $103, followed by cosmetics at $96 and haircare at $91
● 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% from 17% last Spring; 26% of teens own a VR device (flat vs. Spring 2022)
● Video games are 12% of teen wallet share (vs. 14% LY), and 30% expect to purchase a NextGen console within 2 years

Brand & Preference Rankings:
● 52% of teens cite Amazon as their No. 1 favorite e-comm site; SHEIN, Nike, Lululemon, and Pacsun took spots No. 2-5
● Nike remains the No. 1 brand for all teens in both apparel (31% share) and footwear (60% share)
● Crocs increased from the No. 6 preferred footwear brand to No. 5 while Hey Dude moved from No. 9 to No .7
● Converse gained 200 bps of share Y/Y, 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
● Bath & Body Works came in as the No. 1 fragrance brand among female teens (38% share) in a new question this survey
● Ulta remained the No. 1 preferred beauty destination at 42% share, 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
● TikTok improved as the favorite social platform (38% share) by 400 bps vs. last Spring, and SNAP was No. 2 at 30% (-100 bps vs. Spring 2022) while Instagram was No. 3 at 20% (-200 bps vs. Spring 2022)
● Teens spend 32% of daily video consumption on Netflix (flat vs. LY) and 29% on YouTube (-200 bps vs. LY)
● Phone is the No. 1 preferred method by teens 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; 31% of teens own an Apple Watch


Hit the link below to get the full survey.

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