Shopping: Survey Unveils Teens’ Brand Choices in 2025 – From Crunchy Snacks to Impactful Influencers
- InsightTrendsWorld
- Apr 14
- 8 min read
Why Is This Topic Trending?
Rise in Teen Spending: Teen spending in 2025 is at an all-time high, increasing 6% year-over-year to $2,388 annually, showcasing growing economic influence.
Influencer Impact: Influencers significantly shape teen purchasing decisions, making social media endorsements critical for brands targeting youth demographics.
Preference for Tech and Social Platforms: Teens overwhelmingly prefer iPhones, TikTok, and streaming services, highlighting the importance of digital engagement for brands.
Shift to Energy Drinks: Teens increasingly favor energy drinks over traditional beverages, illustrating a shift in lifestyle and consumption patterns.
Economic Anxiety Amidst Spending Increase: Despite increased spending, a majority (57%) have negative economic perceptions, impacting future consumer confidence and brand strategy.
Overview
Piper Sandler’s survey reveals significant insights into the brand preferences and consumer behaviors of Gen Alpha and Gen Z teens. Covering everything from favorite quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and snacks to preferred influencers and technology, the data highlights critical shifts influencing brand strategies. Businesses need to tailor their offerings and marketing efforts to cater to this influential demographic group’s evolving tastes, economic perceptions, and digital behaviors.
Detailed Findings
Teen Spending Habits: Average self-reported spending increased to $2,388 per year, up 6% from 2024.
Tech Preferences: 88% of teens own an iPhone, with a notable number planning upgrades to the latest models.
Social Media Dominance: TikTok is the leading platform (47%), followed by Instagram (28%) and Snapchat (14%).
Streaming Choices: Netflix (31%) leads video streaming platforms, followed by YouTube (26%) and Hulu (7%).
Preferred Restaurants: Chick-fil-A (17%), McDonald’s (11%), Chipotle (10%).
Snack Preferences: Crunchy snacks dominate—Lays (13%), Goldfish (9%), Doritos (8%).
Energy Drink Popularity: Teens prefer energy drinks over soda or coffee, with Red Bull (29%), Monster (26%), and Alani Nu (17%) topping choices.
Influencer Trust: Influencers such as LeBron James, Alix Earle, and MrBeast significantly influence teen buying decisions.
Economic Sentiment: Despite higher spending, 57% report a worse economic outlook compared to last year.
Key Takeaway
Brands must engage teens authentically through digital platforms, leveraging influencers and aligning product offerings with teen lifestyle shifts—particularly technology, snack preferences, and energy drink consumption—to maintain relevance and foster brand loyalty amidst economic uncertainty.
Main Trend
Teen Power Shift: Digital Influence and Lifestyle-Driven Consumption
Description of the Trend
Teen spending behaviors are increasingly shaped by digital engagement, influencer endorsements, and lifestyle choices centered around technology and convenience. This consumer shift toward brands aligning with digital-native preferences and values, including social influence, snack indulgence, and high-energy lifestyles, defines the modern teen economy.
What Is Consumer Motivation?
Social Identity: Teens use brand choices to express identity, align with social groups, and signal values.
Convenience and Lifestyle: Preference for quick, convenient foods and beverages that match active, fast-paced lifestyles.
Influencer Validation: Trust in social media influencers heavily motivates purchase decisions.
Tech Integration: Desire for seamless integration of digital technology in daily life.
Status and Trends: Keeping up with peers through trendy brands and products signals belonging and social acceptance.
What Is Driving the Trend?
Digital Native Lifestyle: Constant connectivity through smartphones and social media shapes consumer choices.
Influencer Economy: Influencers directly influence teens’ trust and product validation.
Generational Shifts: Younger consumers redefine brand loyalty based on digital engagement and authenticity.
Economic Paradox: Despite increased spending, economic uncertainty motivates teens toward brands offering perceived value and social currency.
Motivation Beyond the Trend
Identity Exploration: Brands and products offer teens tools for identity formation and self-expression.
Social Connectivity: Consumption choices are increasingly linked to social media presence, reinforcing group belonging.
Coping with Economic Anxiety: Teens use spending as a means to gain control and express optimism despite financial worries.
Description of Consumers the Article Refers To
Age: Average age 16.2 years, spanning Gen Alpha and Gen Z.
Gender: 54% male, 45% female, 1% non-binary.
Income: Average household income $65,995, indicating middle-income families.
Lifestyle: Digitally connected, socially aware, trend-driven, economically cautious, and active social media users.
Conclusions
Teen consumption in 2025 is heavily influenced by digital trends, influencer marketing, and lifestyle preferences for convenience, technology, and energy-driven products. Brands must navigate these dynamics strategically, emphasizing authentic engagement, influencer partnerships, and products tailored specifically to teen values and lifestyles.
Implications for Brands
Enhanced Digital Strategy: Prioritize TikTok, Instagram, and influencer marketing to reach and resonate with teens.
Product Innovation: Develop products catering to convenience, snacking trends, and high-energy lifestyles.
Economic Sensitivity: Address teen economic concerns through value-driven messaging and accessible price points.
Tech Compatibility: Align product launches with popular technology upgrades (e.g., latest iPhone models).
Implications for Society
Influencer Accountability: Heightened need for transparency and authenticity in influencer marketing.
Health and Wellness: Awareness of health impacts associated with increased energy drink consumption.
Economic Literacy: Opportunities for initiatives promoting financial literacy and economic awareness among teens.
Implications for Consumers
Greater Influence on Brands: Teens wield increasing power to shape product offerings and marketing practices.
Customized Offerings: More personalized, digitally integrated products and experiences tailored to youth preferences.
Socially Responsible Brands: Teens demand greater accountability and authenticity from brands.
Implication for Future
Brands targeting teens must prioritize digital engagement, influencer partnerships, and products designed specifically around teen lifestyles, technology use, and economic perceptions. These strategies will be essential to capturing teen loyalty and driving sustainable growth.
Consumer Trend
Digital-Native Consumption: Teens increasingly rely on digital platforms, influencers, and online communities to guide their consumption decisions, redefining brand loyalty in the digital age.
Consumer Sub Trend
High-Energy Lifestyle :Consumption habits shift toward energy drinks and convenience-driven snacks, reflecting the busy, digitally integrated lives of teens.
Big Social Trend
Influencer-Driven Trust Economy: Social media influencers play a crucial role in teen purchasing behavior, creating trust and validating brand choices through online content.
Worldwide Social Trend
Tech-Integrated Identity: Globally, youth identities and consumption habits are shaped by digital technology, social media, and online community validation.
Social Drive
Economic Anxiety Amid Increased Spending: Teens express anxiety about economic conditions yet continue spending, indicating a complex relationship between economic perception and consumer behavior.
Learnings for Brands to Use in 2025
Invest in Influencers: Engage trusted influencers to authentically represent brand values.
Prioritize Social Media Platforms: Focus efforts primarily on TikTok and Instagram.
Innovate Around Convenience: Offer accessible, snack-friendly, and energy-focused products.
Emphasize Value: Clearly communicate affordability and value to address economic concerns.
Integrate with Popular Tech: Ensure products and campaigns seamlessly fit into teens' digital lifestyles.
Strategy Recommendations for Brands to Follow in 2025
Digital-first Approach: Allocate budget significantly toward digital marketing, specifically influencer collaborations on TikTok and Instagram.
Energy and Snacking Innovations: Launch products tailored to high-energy teen lifestyles, emphasizing convenience and taste.
Transparent Communication: Clearly address economic concerns through pricing strategies, promotional offers, and value-focused messaging.
Product Placement and Collaborations: Partner with leading youth brands (e.g., Apple, Chick-fil-A) to align offerings with teen interests.
Final Sentence (Key Concept)
In 2025, brands winning with teens will seamlessly combine influencer authenticity, digital integration, lifestyle relevance, and economic sensitivity in their strategies.
What Brands & Companies Should Do in 2025 to Benefit from Trend and How to Do It
Prioritize Influencer Marketing: Select trusted influencers aligning authentically with brand identity.
Innovate Strategically: Focus product development on tech compatibility, convenience, and teen lifestyle.
Maintain Economic Sensitivity: Offer clear value propositions, promotions, and accessible pricing models.
Leverage Social Platforms: Intensify engagement on TikTok and Instagram, ensuring brand presence and interactivity.
Final Note
Core Trend
Digital Youth Economy: Teen spending power and digital behaviors significantly influence consumer markets, driven by social media, influencer culture, and lifestyle convenience.
Core Strategy
Influencer Integration: Leverage trusted social influencers to drive teen brand loyalty and consumer decisions.
Core Industry Trend
Energy and Snack Evolution: Teens shift toward high-energy drinks and snackable foods as staple dietary components.
Core Consumer Motivation
Social Validation and Lifestyle Integration: Teens seek products aligning closely with their digital identities and active, high-energy lifestyles.
Final Conclusion
Brands capable of authentically engaging teens through digital platforms, influencer partnerships, and lifestyle-aligned products will dominate youth markets in 2025 and beyond, creating lasting relationships through strategic relevance and trust.
Core Trend Detailed: Digital Youth Economy
Description
The core trend reflects the rise of digitally driven teen consumption, where Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s brand choices are increasingly shaped by social media influencers, lifestyle convenience, technology integration, and economic sensitivity. Teens are spending more, despite feeling economically uncertain, indicating a shift toward brands that offer social validation, digital engagement, affordability, and align with their active, high-energy lifestyles.
Key Characteristics of the Trend (Summary)
Influencer-Driven Decisions: Teens heavily rely on influencers like LeBron James, Alix Earle, and MrBeast to validate and guide purchasing choices.
Digital-First Consumption: Preferences strongly influenced by digital platforms, particularly TikTok, Instagram, and streaming services like Netflix and YouTube.
High-Energy Lifestyle Choices: Increasing preference for energy drinks (Red Bull, Monster, Alani Nu) and convenience snacks (Lays, Goldfish, Doritos).
Economic Paradox: Higher spending coincides with growing economic anxiety, driving teens toward brands offering clear value and affordability.
Tech Integration: Dominance of iPhones highlights the critical role of tech compatibility and seamless digital experience in shaping teen consumption.
Market and Cultural Signals Supporting the Trend (Summary)
Increased Teen Spending: Annual teen spending has risen 6%, reaching $2,388 in 2025.
Social Media Dominance: TikTok (47%), Instagram (28%), and Snapchat (14%) dominate teen attention and influence.
Rise of Energy Drinks: Energy drinks have overtaken traditional sodas and coffee, becoming the preferred energy source among teens.
Brand Loyalty to Tech: 88% own iPhones, highlighting Apple’s continued cultural and market dominance among teens.
Influencer Credibility: High trust in social media figures shapes purchasing behaviors significantly more than traditional advertising methods.
Economic Concern: Despite higher spending, 57% of teens report feeling worse about economic trends than in previous years.
How the Trend Is Changing Consumer Behavior (Summary)
Increased Reliance on Influencers: Teens trust influencer recommendations over traditional ads, reshaping marketing strategies and consumer trust models.
Shifting Beverage Preferences: Teens’ move toward energy drinks as primary beverages affects product portfolios in grocery and convenience stores.
Preference for Digital Platforms: Consumption decisions heavily influenced by digital content, social media trends, and peer validation online.
Value-Oriented Spending: Economic uncertainty drives teens to prioritize products that clearly communicate affordability and value without sacrificing lifestyle relevance.
Active, Convenient Snacking: Snack choices indicate a clear preference for convenient, satisfying, on-the-go options, further shaping product development and innovation.
Implications Across the Ecosystem
For Brands and CPGs:
Must prioritize influencer partnerships and digital marketing, particularly via TikTok and Instagram.
Develop and innovate products tailored to teen preferences for convenience, energy-focused beverages, and snacks.
Ensure products provide clear, value-oriented propositions to resonate amidst economic uncertainty.
For Retailers:
Optimize retail spaces for quick-access products favored by teens, including prominently displayed snack and energy drink categories.
Incorporate digital marketing and influencer endorsements within in-store and online retail environments to enhance appeal and relevance.
Offer targeted promotions and clearly communicate value propositions to address teen economic concerns effectively.
For Consumers:
Gain increased influence over product offerings, driving brands toward innovation, transparency, and authentic digital engagement.
Enjoy access to products more aligned with their lifestyle needs and digital preferences, enhancing overall satisfaction.
Benefit from brand responsiveness to economic realities through more accessible price points and promotional offers.
Strategic Forecast
Over the next five years, expect this trend of digitally driven teen consumption to accelerate, specifically:
Growth in Influencer Marketing: Influencers will continue to dominate teen consumption trends, prompting brands to invest even more heavily in influencer partnerships and social media campaigns.
Energy and Snacking Innovation: Energy drinks and convenient snacks will expand in variety, formulation, and packaging to meet growing consumer demand and health awareness.
Digital Integration Intensifies: Brands will deepen integration with popular digital platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Netflix) through sponsored content, interactive experiences, and tech-compatible products.
Economic Sensitivity in Marketing: Brands will more explicitly address economic anxieties among teens through affordable product lines, transparent pricing strategies, and value-oriented communication.
Final Thought
The digitally driven teen consumer trend underscores a fundamental transformation in how brands must engage, market, and innovate to win the loyalty of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. In 2025 and beyond, success will hinge upon authentically aligning brand strategies with digital trends, influencer credibility, lifestyle convenience, and economic responsiveness—ultimately creating deep, lasting consumer connections.
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