Dive Brief:

• Among young consumers 13 to 24 years old, the youngest (13 to 17 years old) prefer shopping at physical stores and in malls. Those youngsters spend 71% of their "earnings" there, compared to 69% for those between 18 and 24, according to research by real estate development firm Forest City and research firm Alexander Babbage. 

• Friends were the biggest influence on teenagers, who are also keen on deals, with 14- to 17-year-olds less loyal to brands and more interested in discounts than those over seventeen.

• Although these young people aren’t big on mobile shopping, they do employ mobile to find deals and share things with their friends.

Dive Insight:

Some of this is hardly surprising — of course people between ages 13 and 17 will be interested in discounts; their “earnings,” for many of them, come from a weekly allowance, after all. And kids this age are very social, so the mall is a logical place for them to hang out.

It will be interesting to see whether this generation continues to enjoy brick-and-mortar shopping, and how much their mobile commerce goes beyond research and deal-hunting. While there are many indications that it will, mobile has a lot of evolution to do before these kids’ earnings get real.