Teens Trim Overall Spending, but Beauty Booms

Teen spending was down 6% this spring compared to the same period last year. It also was up 1% from fall 2023 but still well below pre-pandemic levels, according to investment bank Piper Sandler’s Taking Stock with Teens survey of 6,020 U.S. residents averaging 16.1 years of age.

Teens reported spending an average of $2,262 this spring, their parents contributing 62% of that, according to Piper Sandler senior research analyst Abbie Zvejnieks. “We are seeing some significant shifts in brand preferences, including the rise of smaller, innovative brands which are taking share from incumbents. Social media has led to an accelerated trend cycle, including an increased emphasis on key products, and brands will have to be nimble to keep up,” she said.

Despite declines in apparel and footwear spending, teens are still investing in beauty, and 85% of teen beauty shoppers prefer to buy their cosmetics, fragrances and other beauty items from brick-and-mortar stores rather than online, according to the report. The average amount a teen beauty consumer was willing to spend on core beauty products this spring reached $339, the highest since spring 2018. Ulta Beauty and Sephora were teens’ top beauty destinations this spring.

Secondhand-Sales Fest Season

Malls are tapping into the popularity of secondhand and resale goods. Mall of America, for one, will host traveling vintage market Totally Rad Vintage Fest this month. The two-day event will see 50 vintage vendors take over a two-level event space in the mammoth mall. The mall hosted the event for the first time in December. And Michigan’s Meridian Mall recently hosted a fashion show spotlighting environmentally friendly clothing options from local thrift stores, consignment shops and upcycling businesses, among others.

These initiatives make sense, given the results of a recent survey by Alvarez & Marsal Consumer & Retail Group. More than half of consumers are shopping for secondhand or resale goods this spring, according to the survey. Even among households with $200,000 or more in annual household income, cost remains the primary motivation behind shopping for secondhand goods, Alvarez & Marsal found.

Restaurants Will Serve Up Technology in 2024

Expect to see more technology in restaurants in the coming yea, according to a National Restaurant Association survey of both operators and consumers. Fifty-five percent of operators plan investments to improve their service areas, and 60% are looking for technology that will enhance the customer experience, according to the association’s Restaurant Technology Landscape Report 2024.

One innovation that full-service restaurants are considering: customers schedule arrival times and place orders in advance online. Once they arrive, their food will be delivered shortly therafter. Seventy percent of consumers say they’d use this option. That figure rises to 84% for Millennials and 88% for Gen Zers.

And 30% of consumers would pay a fee, say $10, to reserve a specific table from an online seating chart. That figure increases to 44% for Millennials and 54% for Gen Zers.

The survey also revealed growing consumer acceptance of variable pricing in restaurants. Operators can adjust prices based on demand through smartphone apps and social media, and a significant share of adults, 61%, are comfortable with this approach. Among Millennials, 67% are comfortable with it, and 71% of Gen Zers are.

More Takeaways

• A small but mighty 16% of operators are leading the artificial intelligence charge in 2024, and voice recognition sits at the forefront.
• Convenience is key for Gen Z. Eighty-two percent leverage smartphone apps for faster, smoother limited-service restaurant experiences. Among limited-service operators, 40% plan to devote resources to smartphone app development in 2024, and among full-service operators, 27% plan to do so.
• Consumers aren’t afraid of robots. Thirty-six percent say they’d order food that gets delivered by automated systems or robots, and 29% would like their food to be prepared by them.

Dollar Store Chains Are Having to Adapt

The dollar store landscape is shifting. 99 Cents Only Stores will close all 371 of its locations, attributing its troubles to COVID, shifting consumer demand, inflation and rising levels of shrink. The company’s stores — which span California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas — will begin selling off their merchandise and store equipment. And Dollar Tree Inc. plans to close about 600 Family Dollar stores by the end of July and will close an additional 370 or so Family Dollars and 30 Dollar Tree stores as their leases expire in the coming years.

UCLA Anderson School of Management associate professor of marketing Brett Hollenbeck told USA Today that the sector’s closures might just be a correction. “In might be a necessary adjustment after so much growth.”

JCPenney’s First New Store in 8 Years Exceeded Opening-Weekend Sales Targets

JCPenney opened a 65,000-square-foot store at Willowbrook mall in Wayne, New Jersey, on April 5, its first new location in eight years. The retailer plans to revitalize its physical spaces with more displays, including mannequins. It has allocated $1 billion for a refresh plan. The new store features an open floor plan with longer sightlines, easier navigation and a rotation shop for home and holiday items. Opening weekend sales beat the plan by 48%, and the store was the second-highest-performing JCPenney that weekend, according to the department store chain. The store has filed more than 650 applications for JCPenney credit cards since its soft opening on March 14.

Brokerage firm Sperry, which operates in the U.S. and Mexico, plans to operate franchises in Australia, Vietnam and India and later to enter additional countries. The firm, recently rebranded from Sperry Commercial Global Affiliates. It will operate as Sperry in the U.S. and Sperry Global elsewhere.