Survey: 71% of Teens Concerned About Inflation this Holiday Shopping Season

Survey: 71% of Teens Concerned About Inflation this Holiday Shopping Season

Junior Achievement Research Also shows Most Teens Plan to Shop “In-Store” This Year

Washington, DC – A new survey of teens conducted for Junior Achievement by the research firm Big Village shows that most teens (71%) are concerned with how inflation will impact this holiday shopping season. The results are part of the JA Teens & Holiday Spending survey, which assesses teen consumer attitudes associated with the holiday shopping season. The survey of 1,005 13- to 17-year-olds was conducted by Big Village from November 15 through 20, 2022.

Additional findings include:

  • 92% of teens have noticed changes during recent shopping experiences, including higher prices (66% - up from 49% last year), harder-to-find items (40% - down from 47% last year), and fewer checkers/less help at stores (32% - the same percentage as last year).

  • 78% of teens plan to shop “in-store” this year, compared to 81% last year, with 71% also shopping online, compared to 70% last year.

  • 74% of teens plan to spend “the same” or “more” on gifts this holiday season, down from 78% last year.

  • Top teen gift ideas include clothing (62%), gift cards (52%), video games (47%), accessories (43%), and small electronics (35%).

“For many teens, shopping for others during the holiday season is their first exposure to some of the economic realities, such as rising prices or shortages, that face their parents or caregivers,” said Jack E. Kosakowski, President & CEO of Junior Achievement USA. “In many ways, this can be a teachable moment. At Junior Achievement, we encourage parents and caregivers to take this opportunity to discuss things like putting together a budget for the holidays, comparison shopping, and creative gifting if higher prices or hard-to-find items become a challenge.”

Junior Achievement recently launched JA Connect, a new online resource where teens can learn about careers, entrepreneurship, and how to manage money. The “My Money” section takes teens through developing a budget and planning their financial future. JA Connect is available at www.connect.JA.org.

 

Methodology

This Youth CARAVAN survey was conducted by Big Village among a sample of 1,005 13-17-year-olds. This survey was live on November 15-20, 2022.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls. 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, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. It is nationally representative with set quotas based on census data. The 1,005 completes are all who qualified and completed based on the demographic quota requirements. The MoE is +/- 3.1%.