American kids and teens want their Nike, Air Jordan and Adidas shoes, and they also favor Lululemon and Levi.
In the U.S., even luxury fashion brands such as Gucci and Dior are showing up on wish lists from kids as young as age 4, while beauty and skincare brands such as Drunk Elephant and e.l.f. appear to gain ground among girls between ages 9 and 18.
That’s the data from SuperAwesome, which conducted a survey in June on what’s on the 2025 holiday wish lists of kids and teens.
Other key data points are that U.S. parents are expected to spend an average of $548 on gifts this year for their kids and teens, up from $461 last year, while one in three kids and teens are also asking for fandom-related gifts — a reflection of their digital lives — from the shows, games and creators they love. The research also showed that social media is the top influence at 44 percent on teen wishlists, although the fandom-trend gained ground at 40 percent.
The survey also noted that early 50 percent of parents plan to begin their Christmas shopping before November, a sign that shoe brands must stay top of mind for all shoppers. Parents of teens will probably shop later, in November and early December. The survey attributed that to teens still deciding what they want and the greater presence of key sales moments for tech items during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Sportswear and sneaker brands such as Nike, Air Jordan and Adidas are universally popular. And with Lululemon and Levi also on the list, that bodes well for potential expansion of the lifestyle sneaker category at Lululemon and brand collaborations similar to the Levi’s x Nike Air Max 95 that launched last month featuring a trio of sneakers in three different denim shades and Swoosh-branded denim.
Separately, the U.S. Census Bureau said on Friday that retail sales in July rose 0.5 percent to $726.3 billion from $722.6 billion in June, which was revised to show an overall uptick of 0.9 percent for the month. Retail trade sales rose 0.7 percent, and was up 3.7 percent from last year.
“July retail sales remained healthy despite growing questions about the direction of consumer spending,” said David Silverman, senior director at Fitch Ratings. His team recently adjusted its outlook on U.S. retail to deteriorating from neutral, given concerns over waning consumer financial health and impact on prices from tariffs.
“The consensus among economists is that more notable tariff impacts are coming, likely later this year. Many retailers still have inventory that was obtained in prior months, unaffected by significant trade issues,” noted RRD retail and consumer behavior expert Chip West. He added that an abundance of summer sales promotion motivated deal-seekers to buy before additional supply chain concerns could take effect, and that parents engaged in back-to-school shopping also helped boost fashion sales.
A report from AlixPartners and the Distributors and Retailers of America last month indicated that tariff impact on shoe prices were a concern for parents shopping for back-to-school, with many noting that they will trade down or buy fewer pairs.
Economists at Wells Fargo described the July sales data as “good but not great.” While consumers appear to be showing spending strength, they noted that a big part of data can be attributed to auto sales, which rose 1.6 percent in July. Excluding autos, sales were up a more modest 0.3 percent.
The economists also noted that the big takeaway from Amazon’s Prime sales even is that households are on theunt for value. “Consumers are still spending, but they’re price conscious, which may ultimately stunt or delay higher prices,” the concluded, noting that even if firms are passing costs to the consumer, that will occur gradually as consumers are showing a reluctance to absorb the increases.
“Ultimately, higher consumer prices could lead to a firmer retail trend in coming months, but we remain cautious on the trajectory of underlying sales volume headed into the second half of the year,” the economists concluded in a report on Friday.
