Apple Continues to Dominate Teen Buying Preferences, Growing Lead Over Competitors Like Venmo and Rolex

[MacRumors]

Apple devices and services continue to dominate teen purchasing preferences in the United States, but more teens choose to not use iCloud Private Relay compared to those that use or plan to use the feature, according to new data gathered by investment firm Piper Sandler for its most recent biannual teen survey.

According to the report, 87 percent of surveyed teens in the United States now own an iPhone, and 87 percent expect their next smartphone to be an iPhone. In addition, 72 percent of teens already own AirPods.

Apple Watch ownership continues to climb among teens, reaching 37 percent, up from 34 percent last fall. 14 percent of teens now intend to buy an Apple Watch within the next six months.

Apple Watch is now overwhelmingly the most popular watch brand among upper-income teens, with 42 percent of upper-income teens saying that Apple is their favorite watch brand. Apple has gradually climbed up the list of the most popular watch brands among upper-income teens, reaching the milestone of taking the top spot from Rolex in the fall of last year. As of spring 2022, the Apple Watch now stands well ahead of the next three most popular watch brands, with Rolex at 33 percent, Garmin at two percent, and Fossil at two percent.

Apple Pay is still the most popular payment service among teens, capturing 23 percent of the mobile payments market, well ahead of Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal. The popularity of Apple Pay may be partly attributed to 87 percent of teens owning an iPhone.

41 percent of teens are currently using iCloud Private Relay or are interested in using it in the next six months, but 45 percent of teens have Apple devices and choose to not use iCloud Private Relay, and do not plan to do so in the future.

The findings are part of Piper Sandler's "Taking Stock With Teens" survey, seen by Apple 3.0, which asked 7,100 teenagers with an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 about their purchasing habits and brand preferences. This survey has been an ongoing project since 2001, providing long-term insights into teens' thinking.

Article Link: Apple Continues to Dominate Teen Buying Preferences, Growing Lead Over Competitors Like Venmo and Rolex

 

[darkharbour]

Wait, 33% of all watches worn by teens of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 are Rolex’s?

 

[iphonehype]

Considering the price of a Rolex and the market, luxury market etc. Why is Rolex even in the title? Wouldn't the comparison be against FitBit, Samsung and other competitors? If most of the US own iPhones, it would then likely mean x mount of those users would own AirPods and Apple Watches.

I do have a few friends that have iPhone, AirPods but have an Rolex and would never buy an Apple Watch

 

[nfl46]

Lol. This is the one of the reasons green bubbles are disliked in the States. The iPhone is incredibly popular here.

 

[duffman9000]

Wait, 33% of all watches worn by teens of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 are Rolex’s?

I’d love to see how these kids are actually getting Rolex watches. They probably aren’t buying at retail prices. They would have to buy a lot of other watches before an official Rolex dealer will sell them a watch. Maybe they are using their rich parents connections to help buy a watch at retail.

Rolex increases its production very little each year. They sell practically every watch it makes.

 

[kennyt72]

They also say Chick-Fil-A is their number one restaurant ??.
I doubt 100% Rolex is losing any market share to Apple and I also 100% doubt Rolex are worried in any way shape or form

 

[dbwie]

Taking the top spot from Rolex among teens cannot be hard. How many teens own a Rolex? I don't even know what the least expensive Rolex costs. EDIT: now I'm laughing, seeing that other commenters before me picked up on the absurdity of the Rolex comparison.

 

[jlc1978]

I’d love to see how these kids are actually getting Rolex watches.

I'm guessing the survey is catching aspirational choices, not real life ones.

They probably aren’t buying at retail prices. They would have to buy a lot of other watches before an official Rolex dealer will sell them a watch. Maybe they are using their rich parents connections to help buy a watch at retail.

My local Rolex dealer wll sell one to anyone with the cash; unless your talking something really hard to get. But that's pretty much true with most expensive watch brands.

Rolex increases its production very little each year. They sell practically every watch it makes.

They're good watches, but their advertising makes them seem like the best. Limiting supply give a sense of exclusivity; never mind that, again except for the rare ones, used ones are available at a decent price.

 

[pgiguere1]

Wait, 33% of all watches worn by teens of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 are Rolex’s?

This is the second time this is mentioned in a MacRumors article, and I still don't understand what this Rolex claim is supposed to mean.

I tried to learn more about the survey's methodology by visiting Piper Sandler's website, but there are absolutely no details, unless you request the full report (which isn't made public and is probably paid).

The only way this would make sense to me is if 33% of teens wish they had a Rolex. Like if the question was "What watch would you wear if money was no object?". Which is way different than "What watch do you wear?". Pretty crazy that this is not clarified in the report's results summary / infographic.

 

[kennyt72]

Where's the link to the survey I had a look and found the spring survey but can't see anything about the watch brand claim

 

[darkharbour]

This is the second time this is mentioned in a MacRumors article, and I still don't understand what this Rolex claim is supposed to mean.

I tried to learn more about the survey's methodology by visiting Piper Sandler's website, but there are absolutely no details, unless you request the full report (which isn't made public and is probably paid).

The only way this would make sense to me is if 33% of teens wish they had a Rolex. Like if the question was "What watch would you wear if money was no object?". Which is way different than "What watch do you wear?". Pretty crazy that this is not clarified in the report's results summary / infographic.

I think you are right, it surely must be a survey of aspirational purchases, not ones which have actually been purchased.

 

[TiggrToo]

They also say Chick-Fil-A is their number one restaurant ??.
I doubt 100% Rolex is losing any market share to Apple and I also 100% doubt Rolex are worried in any way shape or form

Rolex lead the market share in Swiss watches.

However the entire Swiss watch industry is loosing market share to Apple.

That said, I'd imagine if you can afford a Rolex, you'd also be able to drop cash on a new Apple Watch as well.

So yeah, I personally think Rolex are still doing fine and Apple is quite possibly the least of their worries at this juncture.

 

[Phogro]

Articles like this really should include a link to the source. I'd love to dig deeper into this / verify that your interpretation of the claims being made in this article are in fact accurate.

 

[jmh600cbr]

So many people in this thread know nothing about watches and specifically Rolex. There is a 3+ Year wait for almost any Rolex right now internationally. They don’t even keep lists anymore. The grey market is chatgjng double MSRP. None of these kids, basically no one, is buying Rolex.

 

[totom_]

Wait, 33% of all watches worn by teens of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 are Rolex’s?

No. The article states the following:

the most popular watch brand among upper-income teens, with 42 percent of upper-income teens saying that Apple is their favorite watch brand

Hence, 33% state Rolex is their favorite watch brand, not that they own one. In addition, the article is not clear whether the "upper-income teens" are the ones "of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298" or if there is another subset within this group with a higher household income.

 

[threesixty360]

Rolex's are pretty much just jewellery for guys really. The whole mens watch industry is just jewellery.. not really comparable to the functionality of an Apple Watch.

The funny thing is, when I realised that they all cant actually keep time anywhere near the accuracy of £30 Casio I just laughed... what a crazy world!

 

[duffman9000]

My local Rolex dealer wll sell one to anyone with the cash; unless your talking something really hard to get. But that's pretty much true with most expensive watch brands.

In Southern California, the official Rolex dealer’s men’s shelves are practically empty. The official dealers are the only place I can hope to pay retail. There are other non-official retailers that will happily sell me a GMT II for x2 retail.

The official retailers have wait lists. I think these are for show. I had someone explain it to me like this: people who has a relationship with the dealer are much more likely to get the watch they want. Me, walking in with 30k to spend, I’m no one. They have people who have spent hundreds of thousands over the years. That the people they want to take care of.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Articles like this really should include a link to the source. I'd love to dig deeper into this / verify that your interpretation of the claims being made in this article are in fact accurate.

Can’t allow that because they gotta twist the facts here! Rolex and teens LOL give me a break. This news post seems desperate.

 

[oooopossum]

Gen Z (Born in 2000) here. I can confirm during my teen years if you didn’t have an iPhone and or Apple Watch you were ripe for bullying. even if you had an iPhone but it was an older model you weren’t safe! ?iPhone and Apple products are incredibly popular amongst teens in the US.

 

[PC_tech]

Lol. This is the one of the reasons green bubbles are disliked in the States. The iPhone is incredibly popular here.

Disliked by who exactly? A very small group of elitist that’s who. Outside of that, 99.99999 percent don’t care ?

 

[david0128]

This AW versus Rolex for teenagers post comes up every six months Same funny comments about what is a ridiculous comparison. You can buy a new Apple Watch with what it costs to service a Rolex (if you use an authorised channel). AW is a great fitness device that I use 24/7. I've probably worn a Rolex for about five days in the past few years - ever since my friend lost a few teeth while getting mugged for his.

 

[JimWNC]

Wait, 33% of all watches worn by teens of an average age of 16.2 and a median household income of $69,298 are Rolex’s?

[deleted post]

 

[killawat]

Lol. This is the one of the reasons green bubbles are disliked in the States. The iPhone is incredibly popular here.

Google Agrees. Google calls out Apple for benefiting from iMessage green bubble bullying

 

[killawat]

even if you had an iPhone but it was an older model you weren’t safe! ?

nowadays you have to have everything including AirPods too. "Sorry I don't speak broke."

 

[filmantopia]

This AW versus Rolex for teenagers post comes up every six months Same funny comments about what is a ridiculous comparison. You can buy a new Apple Watch with what it costs to service a Rolex (if you use an authorised channel). AW is a great fitness device that I use 24/7. I've probably worn a Rolex for about five days in the past few years - ever since my friend lost a few teeth while getting mugged for his.

It’s compared because they are in competition for the same real estate on a person’s body. Apple Watch directly cuts into Rolex sales for anyone with the expendable income who prefers modern tech and convenience over prestige.