Oct. 23 (UPI) — Instagram has surpassed Snapchat as the most used social media platform by teenagers, a semi-annual survey said — though Snapchat is still teens’ most preferred app.
Financial research company Piper Jaffray published the survey, “Taking Stock With Teens,” on Monday.
The survey examines the discretionary spending trends and brand preferences of roughly 8,600 teenagers in 48 states.
The survey showed 85 percent of teens said they use Instagram at least once a month — narrowly edging out Snapchat (84 percent). When asked for their preference, though, Snapchat won 46 percent to 32 percent.
The report also said engagement on social media giant Facebook, meanwhile, continues to decline.
Piper Jaffrey said the teens, part of the so-called Generation Z, spends $830 billion in U.S. retail outlets yearly.
“Our fall survey showed overall teen spending as flat with the prior year,” Erinn Murphy, Piper Jaffray senior research analyst, said in a statement. “That said, teen spending continues to expand in categories like video games and food. Females now indicate they spend three-times more on beauty than accessories.
“Within fashion, we see a strong brand cycle emerging led by athletic, streetwear and 1990s brands ranging from Vans, Supreme, Tommy Hilfiger & Adidas.”
Other results from the survey included that Nike remained the top clothing and footwear brand for teens — but it continued to lose ground to other brands like American Eagle and Vans. Chick-fil-A was listed as the top food location for teens, followed by Starbucks.
The survey said food is the top priority of teen spending, accounting for 24 percent of their purchasing dollars. While male teens continue to spend the bulk of their money on video games, females spend most of theirs on personal care and fashion accessories.
Amazon dominates as the favorite shopping website for teenagers (47 percent), while the rest of the e-commerce giant’s competitors languish in single digits.
