Dive Brief:
- Teen spending rebounded in fall 2026 and was up 6% year over year, with spending among higher-income teens up 11%, according to Piper Sandler’s 26th Annual Teen Survey. Apparel spending was up 7% year over year, with girls’ apparel spend up 10%.
- However, the survey found that footwear was down 1%, and Piper Sandler said on LinkedIn that athletic brands overall, including Nike, Adidas and Lululemon, saw their fashion share decline to 29% from 32% last year, after collectively reaching a high of 44% three years ago. In particular, Lululemon lost mindshare for the fifth consecutive survey, and the decline was especially notable among upper-income teen girls.
- Clothing accounted for 22% of the overall spend for upper-income teens and 21% for average-income teens. Specialty retailers, including American Eagle, H&M, Pacsun, Hollister and Urban, accounted for 23% of the fashion mindshare, up 8 percentage points year over year.
Dive Insight:
Piper Sandler surveyed almost 9,000 teens aged 13 to 19, and estimated that current total teen spending was about $65 billion. Teens self-report spending about $2,350 each per year.
The teen spending rebound represented a marked improvement from 2025, when average spending was down 6% year over year. This came despite 70% of teens saying that the economy was getting worse, up from 62% who said that in fall 2025.
While the combined value channel of off-price, discount and outlet retailers lost share with upper-income teens, 44% of that demographic said they purchased clothing from secondhand shops, up from 42% year over year. Amazon was by far the most popular online shopping destination, comprising about 50% of the upper-income teen online shopping share. Each other online retailer ranked in single digits.
In addition, Target was a popular destination for upper-income teen girls, with 50% saying they shopped there for apparel and footwear and 81% saying they shopped there for beauty and skin care.
In footwear, Nike, Adidas and New Balance continued to lead, with Nike accounting for 45% of the overall share. However, all three brands lost percentage points, while On gained share, especially with teen boys.
Teen girls’ fashion spend was driven equally by apparel and accessories, both up 13% year over year, while footwear spending was flat. The survey found that over a two-year basis relative to fall 2024, teen girls’ fashion spend rose 15%, driven by accessories (up 19%), apparel (up 18%) and footwear spend (up 1%).
Coach led the teen girl handbag rankings in fall 2026, with 60% calling it their favorite brand, up from 43% in fall 2025 and 23% in spring 2024. Other popular brands for teen girls included Ugg and Birkenstock in footwear, Alo Yoga in athletic apparel and Brandy Melville in general apparel.
Teen girls’ beauty spending grew 7% year over year and accounted for a survey high 23% of their wallet share, led by hair care, which grew 10%, as well as cosmetics and skin care, which each grew 5%. Elf was the top cosmetics brand with one-third of the overall share, and Medicube became the first K-beauty skin care brand in the top 10, in sixth place.
