Survey: Are Teens Going Bricks and Mortar this Holiday Season?

Colorado Springs, Colo. A new survey from Junior Achievement USA (JA) shows that a majority of teens (54%) plan to do much of their shopping at brick-and-mortar discount stores like Walmart and Target this holiday season. Less than half of teens (46%) said that they would be doing much of their shopping online, while about a third (34%) planned to head out to the shopping malls. These were followed by electronics or gaming stores (20%), department stores (13%), and national clothing chains (10%). Local small businesses, such as boutiques and consignment stores, ranked much lower (3%). The survey of 1, 000 teens was conducted in early November by ORC International for JA.

"Many young people have their first shopping experience during the holidays, " said Jack Kosakowski, President and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "This provides an opportunity for teens to begin learning how to work within a budget and make financially informed decisions. It also creates a moment when parents can talk to their kids about managing money as part of day-to-day conversation."

The largest percentage of teens (38%) expects to spend less than $100 on holiday gifts, while about a fifth anticipate spending between $100 and $200 (21%). Almost as many (18%) think they will spend more than $200 on gifts. About a quarter (23%) either don't know what they will spend or don't anticipate buying presents.

The top gift idea is clothing (56%), followed by gift cards (45%), accessories, such as hats and shoes (44%), video games (42%), small electronics (37%), toys (29%), jewelry (29%), music (22%), and sporting goods/apparel (20%).

Methodology

This report presents the findings of a Youth CARAVAN survey conducted among a sample of 1, 000 13-17 year olds. This survey was live on November 7-12, 2017.

Respondents for these surveys are selected from among those who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls. Because the sample is based on those who initially self-selected for participation, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to multiple sources of error, including, but not limited to sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options.