Teens represent a large portion of the consumer population, and retailers that cater to this demographic need to keep a close eye on ever-changing trends to ensure the success of their businesses. Piper Jaffray's 27th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens research project recently revealed the latest trends among teenage consumers in terms of how and where they shop, as well as how they use technology and mobile devices to fuel the shopping experience.

"Over the 13-year history of our survey, we have observed notable changes in the brands teens aspire to own and wear, the influences that direct what they buy, and how teens are consuming, interacting with and sharing the brands they love," Steph Wissink, Piper Jaffray's senior research analyst, said in a release. "The universal truth about teens remains the same – they continue to seek peer affirmation, their spending is almost entirely discretionary and they are early adopters of change."

Teen spending habits
The survey revealed that teens are spending less than they were in Fall 2013, resulting in about 1 percent sales loss from this demographic. Wissink pointed out that teens today have taken a greater interest in non-conformity than past generations, and as such are more likely to connect with brands that are functional but still cool and provide an experience for their shoppers.

The fashion industry may want to take note of that, as this sector saw a decline in sales, being beaten out by food for the first time in the study's history in terms of the percentage of the average teen's budget per sector. This marks the second study in a row where fashion saw double-digit losses. Fashion retailers can use this knowledge to their advantage, changing their brand experience and revamping their ecommerce software to appeal to this demographic.

In-store shopping reigns supreme
Perhaps the most surprising finding to come out of this study was the fact that most teens would rather go to a brick-and-mortar store than order products online. In fact, 74 percent of female teens and 53 percent of male teens preferred the act of shopping in a store over buying items through ecommerce retail sites. Retailers with brick-and-mortar locations can capitalize on this by offering in-store perks, such as discounts or gift giveaways at the point of sale.

Combining the shopping experience with social media outlets to create an omnichannel brand experience could help win over younger shoppers as well. The study found that Instagram was the most highly ranked social media site, beating out Twitter and Facebook for the first time. To take advantage of this, retailers could offer a discount when shoppers upload photos to Instagram that meet certain parameters and contain brand-specific hashtags, which can double as free viral marketing.