Teens are shifting their footwear preferences.
Piper Sandler’s 26th Annual Teen Survey — the study polled 9,000 teens — indicates that footwear spend is still down but not as much as it was in 2025, and their shoe brand preferences are echoing what the footwear sector is seeing in the marketplace.
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While teen spending fell 1 percent, it was better than the 6 percent decline last year. Spending by male teens was down 3 percent, offset by a 2 percent increase in spending by female teens.
For upper income teens, footwear spend rose 4 percent, driven mainly by male teens, with female teen spend flat to last year, according to a report from Piper analyst Anna Andreeva. Spending overall grew as they spent on apparel, which saw a 15 percent increase driven by upper income teens across both genders.
As for the preferred shoe brands, Nike is still number one at 45 percent, followed by Adidas at 10 percent and New Balance at 7 percent. But those percentages are slipping from year-ago levels that were at 48 percent, 11 percent and 8 percent, respectively. That reflects the broader shift in the market, with in a transition moment and more challenger brands edging in.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Birkenstock (5 percent), Ugg (4 percent), Converse (4 percent), On Running (3 percent), Asics (2 percent), Vans (1 percent) and Crocs (1 percent).
According to Andreeva, Nike’s share loss is less pronounced for guys than for girls, reflecting a 1-point loss in mindshare versus 6 points, respectively. The Piper analyst attributed that to female teens dressing up more and shifting to newer brands, noting that they are also shifting towards non-athletic styles.
Among female teens, Ugg jumped one rank to No. 3, replacing Converse, although the biggest non-athletic winner is Birkenstock as it gained 3 points of mindshare to take the fourth spot in this year’s overall ranking.
Within athletic footwear among upper-income female teens, Hoka regained the No. 2 spot from On Running. Whiles On Running has been focused on attracting a female consumer, “it doesn’t appear to be moving the needle with the younger demo quite yet,” the Piper analyst concluded. New Balance continues to resonate with female teens, gaining 5 points of mindshare in the last three years, Andreeva noted.