Teen consumers are fast becoming the hottest segment of the retail market, and for good reason, CNNMoney reported today.
For the most part, these young adults don’t pay for their food, rent, mortgage or insurance costs. But they get “free” income, better known as an allowance, from their parents, CNNMoney said.
Plenty of teens also supplement their allowance doing odd jobs such as baby-sitting, lawn mowing or dog-walking. Why? Because this is a consumer group with an insatiable appetite for shopping, the financial Web site reported.
The spending fury of teens was clearly obvious in last month’s sales results.
Specialty stores that cater to teens such as American Eagle Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, Pacific Sunwear, and bebe stores had blowout sales in January, CNNMoney said. Teen merchants overall significantly outperformed the discount and department store categories.
A recent industry report suggests that the notoriously free-spending teens will shell out even more money this year.
CNNMoney said that according to tracking firm Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), teens spent about $169 billion in 2004, down slightly from $175 billion the year before, but still healthy given a tough climate for retailers nationwide.
But despite last year’s decline, teen spending has increased an average of five percent a year over the past seven years, CNNMoney said. Rob Callender, TRU’s trend director, says spending levels rebounded nicely during the holidays and indicate a likely upswing in 2005.
“Our annual survey of 2,000 teenager suggests that spending for 2005 appears optimistic,” said Callender
