Don’t expect Vans‘ hot streak to cool down anytime soon: The brand ranks second only to Nike among American teenagers, and its popularity is growing by the season, according to a new study.
Investment banking firm Piper Jaffray published its semiannual “Taking Stock of Teens” survey on Monday, revealing the spending habits and preferences of 8,000 kids with an average age of 16. Nike took the top slot for both clothing and footwear, but Vans hit an all-time high in the latter category, with 20 percent of teens naming it as their favorite shoe brand.
The VF Corp.-owned label — which recently capped off its strongest quarter in two years, posting 25 percent year-over-year revenue growth — carved out market share from Adidas, which now sits in the No. 3 position at 13 percent, down from 14 percent in the fall. Vans chairman, president and CEO Steve Rendle has said that the company plans to grow revenues from $2 billion to $5 billion by fiscal year 2023, focusing on a direct-to-consumer model.
The teens surveyed said they spent an average of $2,600 per year on purchases like clothes and food, and 83 percent said they have an iPhone, making them prime drivers of mobile shopping growth. (According to Adobe research, smartphone sales during the holiday season jumped 56 percent over last year, accounting for 51 percent of all online shopping traffic and 31 percent of sales.)
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For female teens, clothing was the biggest spending category, though shoes accounted for a larger share than in previous surveys. “Broadly, casualization of fashion continues, and footwear is gaining wallet share,” said Erinn Murphy, Piper Jaffray senior research analyst.
Sneaker and streetwear resale marketplace StockX also made its debut on the list of male teens’ favorite shopping websites, coming in ninth place. Amazon ranked first in that category for both male and female teens, with 50 percent of respondents naming the e-commerce giant as their favorite destination to shop online.
