INSIGHTS
Apple's iPhone is the most popular electronics brand among high school students (ages 14-18).
Low-income teens have limited access to electronic devices, making it difficult to determine their preferred brands; however, the majority of them own smartphones and use them for internet access.
FINDINGS
The most popular electronics brands among high school students, ages 14-18, include Apple, GoPro, and Samsung, though minimal data on this demographic's market share of these products is publicly available. Data on low- to middle-income teens was even less forthcoming, though data related to their limited access to electronic devices may explain this lack of information. Electronics make up about 8% of high-income teen spending and 7% of average-income spending, while video systems make up 7% and 8%, respectively. Data on brand market share attributable to this teen demographic is largely unavailable, but available statistics reveal some of their preferences.
METHODOLOGY
To identify the most popular electronics brands among low and middle income high school students (ages 14-18), we searched for polls, surveys, or reports compiled on this demographic. Interestingly, we found somewhat limited data related to the electronics preferences of this demographic, as it appears that other product categories dominate this group's spending activity. However, a report by Google offers useful insights into the brand preferences for this specific demographic. The study, conducted in 2017, offers the preferences of teens ages 13-17, who would therefore be 14-18 in 2018. While the study covers a number of product categories, we were able to suss out the electronics offerings. Several other studies and articles confirmed some of these findings.
We then searched for sales data from the identified brands. Searching through company press releases and financial statements, statistical databases, industry news outlets, and business data sites, we determined that the identified companies do not segment their sales data by age demographic. However, we were able to compile relevant data that points to the prevalence of these brands for the target demographic.
In searching for information related to low- or middle-income teens, we looked again for polls or surveys that might outline electronics brand data, but no such studies were available. So we turned to academic databases, such as Google Scholar, Core, and Lens in search of research or studies conducted on access to electronic devices or digital technologies. Ultimately, data specific to low-income teens and their preferences among electronics brands proved largely elusive, though we were able to uncover some statistical data that outlines their access, or lack thereof, to electronic devices, which may explain the dearth of data on their electronics brand preferences. We outline those findings below.
OVERVIEW
Among teenagers, food and clothing dominate their wallets. According to data compiled by Marketing Charts, food makes up 22% of high-income teen spending, while it makes up 20% of average-income teen spending. Low-income teens are not included in the findings. Clothing comes in second, accounting for 20% of spending for both income groups. Electronics/gadgets make up a much smaller percentage, accounting for about 8% of high-income teen spending and 7% of average-income teen spending, while video systems make up 7% and 8%, respectively. As food and clothing are relatively low-priced items, it is likely they are the most accessible product for teens to purchase without the assistance of a parent.
The 2017 Google report, "It's Lit: A Guide to What Teens Think Is Cool," found that "mobile is still king" when it comes to the technology preferences of teenagers. In December 2017, according to Forbes, they headed to the malls to shop for "personal electronics (73%) and clothes (68%) followed by gifts cards (46%) and footwear (43%)." So mobile devices likely fall into this personal electronics category.
Apple's iWatch is also growing in popularity, according to Piper Jaffray's Fall 2017 semiannual US teenage survey, with 17% of teens indicating they plan to buy the watch in 2018, up from 13% in the spring of 2017. While not a dominate spending segment, it is certainly one to keep an eye on. This increased interest appears to relate to teens desires for ways to listen to music, as 17% of teens listen to Apple Music, while 10% use a MP3 player.
Teens also love virtual and augmented reality technologies, such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, though these are only anecdotally referenced. The Google report offers a graph of the brands deemed the coolest and those with the most awareness among teens. A review of this graph suggest that other top electronics brands include Apple, coming in about 11 points higher than Microsoft, as well as GoPro, Xbox, Samsung, Nintendo, and Sony. However, since a separate Wonder response will focus on the gaming sector, we will not cover Xbox, Nintendo, or Sony in this brief, as our research suggests that these brands likely fall into the gaming category.
LOW-INCOME TEENS AND ELECTRONICS
Data from Pew Research suggests that only about 30% of families with household incomes below $30,000 per year own a smartphone, and almost half of them do not have "home broadband services or a traditional computer." In addition, most of them do not own tablets. However, among those who have smartphones, about 20% of them use their phones for internet access. According to the most recent Census Bureau American Community Survey, just under "half of all households with incomes under $20,000 reported having internet access" in the US.
That said, a 2018 Pew report indicates that smartphone ownership is at 95% across all US teenagers, even among lower income households. Fully 97% of teens from high-income families (over $75,000) own a smartphone, while 93% of those in middle- and lower-income families own them. This access to smartphones is likely the reason that much of the electronics brand data we were able to compile relates to the smartphones category, as described in the next section.
APPLE AND IPHONE
Apple's iPhone is the most popular smartphone among US teenagers, according to several sources. According to the 2017 Google report, iPhones and Android smartphones were both fairly popular with girls preferring iPhones and boys preferring Android. However, data from Fortune and BGC both confirm that iPhone dominates the teen smartphone sector. A 2017 Fortune list of the top brands among teens states that "the iPhone continues its reign as the top smartphone among teens, with 81% reporting they expect their next phone to be an iPhone—the highest level ever recorded in the survey." A BGC article also points to the iPhone's dominance, stating that a survey found that "82% of teenagers — with an average age of 16 — currently own an iPhone, representing a modest increase from the 78% figure Piper Jaffray saw this past fall." It further notes that 84% of teens plan to buy an iPhone for their next smartphone.
To determine the market share of iPhone sales attributable to low and middle income teens in the 14-18 age range, we looked through Apple's 2017 annual report, but it does not provide demographic data or sales data broken down by age group. Sales of iPhones in 2017 were $141,319,000 for a total of 216,756 units. We also looked for news, electronics industry, or statistical sources that might shed light on this category. However, the data on the age distribution of all iPhones proved elusive, making market share triangulation impossible.
GOPRO AND SAMSUNG
While GoPro and Samsung showed up somewhat prominently in the Google report, they were not listed among the top brands at other sources. However, we looked into their financial reports to see if any demographic data might be available, but these companies do not segment their sales by age group. Some research conducted on Samsung indicates the younger demographic may be included in their IT and communications product sectors, but further segmentation is not available. GoPro's 2017 annual report also offers no demographic segmentation, but one older source from 2015 suggests their target demographic are those in the 14-25 age range.
CONCLUSION
Apple's iPhone is among the top most popular electronics brands for US teens in the 14-18 age bracket, while GoPro and Samsung are other popular brands. However, data on the market share among this demographic for any of these brands proved unavailable. While data specific to the low- and middle-income teen sector was also largely unavailable, it appears that this lack of data is likely due to the limited access this demographic has to electronic devices.