Report: Fall Teen Fashion Spending Down 24%

Minneapolis, Total fashion spending among teens declined 24% this fall from spring 2007, according to Piper Jaffray & Co.’s 14th biannual proprietary research survey, "Taking Stock With Teens.”

Total spending declines were most pronounced for young women (18%) vs. a decline of 9% for young men. But the survey also found that teens continue to spend a significant amount of money in the fashion category.

"The fashion category still represents 42% of the total teen budget for the fall 2007 season, despite moderation in spending habits," said Jeff Klinefelter, senior retail research analyst at Piper Jaffray. "However, we found that spending expectations remain largely unchanged, as nearly 50% of the students plan to spend the same amount of money on apparel this season. We believe the discrepancy between budget dollars and expectations may be due to a decline in contributions from parents."