Denim is on the mind of teens, according to a new study from Piper Jaffray Companies. The investment bank and asset management firm conducted a research survey that showed denim brands having a 14 percent uptick in aggregated mindshare.
Denim was a top trend for upper-income females for the first time since fall 2013. The study tracked 6,500 teens in 46 U.S. states. Though overall spending for teenagers was down since spring 2015, the percentage of spending on clothing, accessories and footwear was up to 38 percent versus 36 percent last year.
Among women, fashion athletic apparel was also on the rise with a new high of 17 percent share achieved. The top five clothing brands for both genders were, in order: Nike, American Eagle, Forever 21, Ralph Lauren and Hollister.
Neely Tamminga, Piper Jaffray senior research analyst, said, “While total spending among the teen demographic appears to be down versus last year, we are encouraged that overall teen employment appears to be on the rise; 39 percent of teens indicate they hold a part-time job, which is up 400 basis points over last year’s levels. As they take more control over their discretionary spending, we believe it is critically important to watch for category shifts and brand preferences.”
