By 2011, Teen Market Shrinks, Spending Clout Soars to $200B

The market for products bought by and for the 25.6-million-member teen market will undergo a slight growth spurt, increasing from $189.7 billion in 2006 to $208.7 billion in 2011, despite an estimated 3 percent decline in the 12-17-year-old population in that same period, according to "The Teens Market in the U.S." report from Packaged Facts. According to the teens report (via MarketingCharts): Teen spending money, accumulated through jobs, allowances, "as needed" money from parents, and gifts, will increase an estimated 3.5 percent annually, raising the aggregate teen income 14.4 percent, from $79.7 billion in 2006 to $91.1 billion in 2011. Packaged Facts estimates that 12-14-year-olds have an average annual income of $2,167; teens in the 15-17-year-old age group generate an average annual income of $4,023. The amount of money families spend on teens for food, apparel, personal-care items, and entertainment is expected to grow approximately 7 percent, from $110 billion in 2006 to $117.6 billion in 2011. More than half (51.6 percent) of the teens surveyed said the Internet has changed the way they spend their free time. More than 90 percent use a computer either at home or at school. "Teens living in 2007 have never known a world without personal computers and the Internet," said Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. "Teens are in the vanguard of the digital revolution in the media and marketing worlds, and they're helping to change the way media, marketing, and advertising executives approach the American consumer." A few more findings from the study are available at MarketingCharts.