Teens Prefer Mall Shopping Over Online

Despite teens' online saavy, some things are still better done in person.

Earlier this spring, investment firm Piper Jaffray, which regularly surveys teens’ spending patterns, brand preferences, media and entertainment habits and other information of interest to investors, asked 4,800 teens nationwide whether they shopped online; not surprisingly, more than three-quarters said they did. But when Piper asked teens whether they preferred shopping online or in stores, 78% of girls and 75% of boys said they’d rather go to actual stores.

Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at Pew Internet who studies teen online behavior, said shopping is still a very social activity for teens.

The findings align with previous research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. For instance, a 2011 survey found that 67% of teens spend time in person with others outside of school daily or several times a week.

Source: Pew Research Center
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/10/teens-shop-with-clicks-but-prefer-bricks/