Spring Youth Culture Study 2012

Specifics:

Fresh consumer insight from our 12th Annual Spring Youth Culture Study reveals key findings that leave little doubt that a new generation has come into their own, creating a fresh set of trends within the U.S. youth landscape in spending patterns, shopping habits, use of social media, communication patterns, and changes in brand preferences in fashion, footwear, music, sports, and relevant lifestyle associations.

The DIY aesthetics of more than 56 million people between the ages of 13-25-years-old, born from a tech-savvy generation before them, has flipped traditional business models of what was once consider fluid and popular just 5 years ago. A new framework has been established coming from the bottom-up rather than the top-down and within this Study is the quantitative data, analysis, and insight that reveals how the identity of a new marketplace coming into their own is re-defining the way brands need to do business.

First comes the realization that a large portion of today’s youth culture has spent their entire teens living in a recession. Not only are they pushing the speed of change as the inherent trendsetters in technology, but via the ripple effects of a global economy in hardship, they have a retrospective shadow of a “savings” culture. The dichotomy of the new and old, fast-fashion low-cost trendiness and slow-fashion high-cost craftivism, as an example, is a part of the unique make-up of their characteristic. It’s not only redefining shopping and spending patterns, but creating new hi-low subcultures in music, sports, communication, future concerns, technology, gaming, and lifestyle patterns.

Brand preferences have changed dramatically since last year, and new brands and retailers, especially online, are re-shaping the landscape of shopping, content, and communication. There’s also a “generation gap” occurring within youth culture itself: Starting at the age 21, results reflect distinct differences from other age demographics when it comes to technology patterns, communication, and new media.

Comparing results for the past 12 years, Label Networks has been able to future forecast within this Study as to where the greatest challenges are ahead, but also new market opportunities which some brands have successfully integrated. The disruptive nature of youth culture living on the cusp of dramatic world change has actually carved out unique niches (often created by the individuals themselves) that give rise to opportunities and whole new industries never recognized before.

Youth culture in the United States is one of the most important demographics shaping the landscape of the global future not only because of their vast spending power, but because they tend to lead as a primary source of global inspiration for many other youth markets. Internet and new communication tools have created a whole new paradigm of connectivity across cultures, which makes knowing what’s shaping and influencing youth culture here, vital for where things may be heading across other youth markets around the world.

It is for this reason that our Spring Youth Culture Study 2012 is a vital source for global brands who are mapping out the landscape of their brand strategies.

Specifically, this 300-page Study is based on thousands of interviews from a statistically representative sampling conducted within the beginning of 2012, providing the most current youth consumer insights available. It also delivers far more depth than typical charts and graphs, including detailed analysis as to what the data means, how it compares to the past, with forecasts for where things are headed including up-and-coming brands, changes in the retail landscape, importance of key music subcultures, sports’ fractioning into new genres, and metering of those that making content that connect to online communities that are gaining traction within youth culture, but will never be ranked in mainstream industry ratings because the entry point for these growing markets is off their radar. Subcultures revealed here, in many cases, are bigger than entire industries.

Data is also combined with comparative analysis that is written, illustrated, and designed for each topic by Label Networks’ Youth Culture Experts to provide a quick snapshot of key findings, including historical analysis, visuals, and pull-quotes for fast, effective, forecasting.

Highlights from the Spring Youth Culture Study 2012 include:

• Favorite Fashion Brands and Stores, New Media and Fashion Paradigm Shifts: Fast-Fashion X Slow-Fashion Movements
• Spending Patterns Report  Detailing Changes in More than 10 Key Categories
• Retail Landscape Measuring Big-box, Fast-fashion, Boutiques, and Online Retailing Trends
• Top Music Preferences and the Sources of Influence, plus Music as Indicators of Trends in Information, Fashion, Shopping, Merch Solutions
• Beverages, Energy Drinks, and Sponsorship and Where the Landscape Is Evolving Most
• T-shirts and Denim: Preferences, plus Frequency of Buying, and Changes in Spending Patterns
• Footwear, including Sneaker Culture as Influenced by Youth Preferences
• Digital Lifestyle information ranging from Online Retail, Cell Phones, Smart Phones, and Communication Patterns
• Sports: Action Sports Popularity Shifts, Team Sports, Individual Sports, Outdoor Sports, Urban Sports and Lifestyle Indicators, Icons and Watching Patterns
• Top Future Concerns and Perceptions Capturing the Psychodemographics of Youth Culture Today
• Social Networks and Communication Pattern Changes, Grassroots and New Media Effectiveness and What Works Now and Why
• Video Gaming Preferences, plus Platforms and Changes in the Marketplace

For businesses looking to create new business strategies from the inside out as they pertain to the youth marketplace, the Spring Youth Culture Study 2012 provides the tools to prove and the knowledge to execute feed-forward ideas based on where things are headed, how things have changed, and why they’re moving at the speed of light.

The margin of error for the data in the Spring Youth Culture Study 2012 is less than 2.5% at a confidence level of 95%.  

For Subscription Information, Contact: Label Networks;

Release Date: April 7, 2012

Representative Sample Size: 10,000

Crosstabs: Topline, by Gender, By Age Groups: 13-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-25

Format of the Study: Colorful and actionable charts, graphs, data, design, and intriguing lay-out for ease of use. Included “Macro Trend Editorial Summaries” written by Label Networks’ Youth Culture Analysts for each section to provide a quick snapshot of key findings. Forecasts are also included based on historical intelligence and analysts’ experience in global youth culture markets. Key Quotes throughout.

The Spring Youth Culture Study 2012 is part of Label Networks’ Premium Global Youth Culture Subscription, which also includes:

•           On-going Updates providing fresh news, reviews, trends, fashion, music, sports, festivals, media, events, retail hotspots, + emerging subcultures

•           Spring, Summer, + Fall Youth Culture Studies: Carefully edited with top key new findings, including historical patterns + information, primary data, charts, graphs including cross-tabulations by gender + age groups

•           Macro Trend Summaries detailing high-level analysis for quick snapshots of key trends within specific topics

•           Street Photography and Reports depicting leading-edge trends in fashion, footwear, sports, accessories, attitudes, tattoos, + style

•           Quantitative Charts, Graphs, Frequencies, plus Cross-tabulations by Gender, Age Groups, Country

•           Historical Data + Story Access for trending + future forecasting