Canada Activities of Teens and Tweens Market Report 2022

Overview

• What you need to know
• Key issues covered in this Report

Executive Summary

• Top takeaways
• Market overview
• The activities teens and tweens outlook
  • Figure 1: Category outlook, attitudes of teens and tweens, 2022-27
• Opportunities
• Brands focusing on mental health care and benefits will find it easier to connect with parents
• Parents could be more aware of their children’s activities
• Challenges
• Can brands make financial literacy and financial management fun for teens and tweens?

The Target Audience – Teens and Tweens

• Tween and teen years play an important role in developing habits for adulthood
• COVID-19 has been detrimental to the mental health of teens and tweens
• Canada’s younger populations are more ethnically diverse
  • Figure 2: Canadian ethnic origins, 2022
• Diversity among future generations is projected to increase
  • Figure 3: Canadian population age projections, yearly, 1981-2040

Market Factors – Economic Indicators

• Inflation is a top-of-mind concern for most Canadians
  • Figure 4: Canadian Consumer Price Index, 2020-22
• Household savings are the lowest they have been since Q1 2020
  • Figure 5: Canadian household savings rate, Q1 2019-Q2 2022
• Canada’s aging population will likely put pressure on younger Canadians
  • Figure 6: Canadian population age projections, yearly, 2000-40

Competitive Strategies

• Meeting the needs of young consumers via the lens of the Identity Trend Driver
• Lululemon just released two new workout hijabs
  • Figure 7: Womens Health Magazine Instagram post, June 2022
• Samsung tapped into users’ individuality to promote its smartphones via TikTok challenge
  • Figure 8: Samsung TikTok post, July 2021
• Dairy brand Lactalis has added the brand Khaas to better serve South Asian, Middle Eastern and North African communities
• Meeting the needs of young consumers through the lens of the Surroundings Trend Driver
• Digital marketplace, Flashfood, has diverted 50 million pounds of food from landfills
  • Figure 9: Flashfood Twitter post, November 2022
• TELUS’ Mobile Health Clinics show consumers it cares
  • Figure 10: TELUS Mobile Health Clinic Twitter post, October 2021
• Meeting the needs of young consumers via the lens of the Technology Trend Driver
• The future is here with ‘live shopping’
  • Figure 11: Livescale TV Instagram post, August 2021
• L’Oréal went live
  • Figure 12: L’Oréal’s Beauty Festival Instagram post, June 2021
• Spotify has acquired Heardle to further engage younger consumers
  • Figure 13: Spotify Instagram post, July 2022
• Meeting the needs of young consumers through the lens of the Wellbeing Trend Driver
• Samsung gamifies health and turns it into a competitive but friendly social experience
  • Figure 14: Samsung Canada Galaxy Watch 4 Instagram post, August 2021
• SMRT1 Vending can provide healthy vending options to schools

Activities of Teens and Tweens: Fast Facts

Who are Canada’s youngsters and their parents?

• There are more teens than tweens in Canadians households
  • Figure 15: Parentage in households with children under 18, teens vs tweens, 2022
• • Figure 16: Age breakdown of parents, 2022
• Tweens are more likely to be in multi-child households
  • Figure 17: Number of children under 18 in the home, parents of tweens vs parents of teens, 2022
• Reaching parents can be just as important as marketing directly to teens and tweens
  • Figure 18: Social media sites visited weekly, parents of tweens vs parents of teens, 2022
• Canadian teens describe themselves as creative and unique
  • Figure 19: Teen self-associations (any rank), 2022
• • Figure 20: Apple TikTok post, June 2022
  • Figure 21: Gap Instagram post, February 2022
• There is a gendered divide in how some teens describe themselves
  • Figure 22: Teen self-associations (any rank), by gender, 2022
• Parents see their kids as social and environmentally conscious
  • Figure 23: Parent perceptions of teens (% agree), 2022

The Recreational Activities of Teens and Tweens

• Most kids hang out with their friends and do communal family activities
  • Figure 24: Activities of tweens/teens in the past 12 months, 2022
• • Figure 25: Sport Chek Instagram post, August 2022
• Tweens are typically more involved in arts-related activities
• Enjoyment is the prime motivator for kids, but peers also have an outsized influence
  • Figure 26: Motivations for participation in activities, 2022
• Outside of clothing choices, activity decisions are either collaborative or parent-driven
  • Figure 27: Household decision makers, 2022
• In some areas, teens are typically vested with more decision-making responsibility by their parents
  • Figure 28: Household decision makers, parents of tweens vs parents of teens, 2022
• • Figure 29: Independence of children is important (% agree), parents of tweens vs parents of teens, 2022

The Priorities and Plans of Teens, Tweens and Their Parents

• For most parents, fostering a healthy lifestyle and educational success are top priorities for students
  • Figure 30: Parent priorities for children, any rank vs top priority, 2022
• • Figure 31: Better Help TikTok post, March 2022
• Moms were more likely to rank mental health as a priority
  • Figure 32: Mental health is a priority, moms vs dads, 2022
• Younger parents are bigger on financial literacy
  • Figure 33: Developing financial literacy is a priority, 18-34s vs overall, 2022
• • Figure 34: Tangerine financial literacy Twitter post, July 2022
• While knowledge is important, many parents also believe it’s important to prep for the future with hands-on experience
  • Figure 35: Future prep with hands-on experience (% agree), 2022
• • Figure 36: CIBC Smart Spend Facebook post, May 2022
• In terms of financial planning, teens are most likely to have saved money for a large purchase in the future
  • Figure 37: Teen finance and money related experience, 2022
• Teens themselves expect to be mostly independent by thirty
  • Figure 38: Hope to experience by 30 years old (teens), 2022
• There are some significant differences in teens’ future expectations by gender
  • Figure 39: Hope to experience by 30 years old (teens), boys vs girls, 2022
• Post-secondary prep isn’t a motivator for teens, despite expectations, but income plays a part
  • Figure 40: Motivator – Preparing for university, 2022

Spotlight On: Teens, Tweens and Social Media

• Daily social media usage is common among teens
  • Figure 41: Daily teen social media usage, 2022
• Teen girls use Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok significantly more often than teen boys
  • Figure 42: Daily teen social media usage, teen boys vs teen girls, 2022
• The majority of teens use social media for communication and entertainment
  • Figure 43: Social media usage statements (% agree), 2022
• More than half of teens have online friends that they do not see in person
  • Figure 44: ‘I have online friends (who I mostly talk to online, but rarely/never see in person)’ (% agree), by age and gender, 2022
• Over half of teens check social media first thing in the morning
  • Figure 45: Social media posting statements (% agree), 2022
• A sizeable minority of teens are invested in their social following
• Teens hold social media influencers in high regard
  • Figure 46: New ways to Create Handsfree with YouTube Shorts on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, February 2022
• Parents are concerned about time spent on social media
  • Figure 47: My kids spend too much time on social media (% agree), 2022
• While parents have identified mental health as a rising problem, teens have identified social media as the source
  • Figure 48: ‘I think social media has a negative impact on my mental health’ (% agree), 2022
• Body image concerns plague teens of all demographics, exacerbated by social media
  • Figure 49: ‘Social media makes me feel good about myself’ (% agree), by age and gender, 2022
• • Figure 50: Sephora TikTok post, June 2022
• Parents have more of an opportunity to work with their children to build healthier screen time habits
  • Figure 51: Primary social media decision maker, 2022
• • Figure 52: EyeZy, August 2022

Spotlight On: Gaming & Media

• Nearly all teens have played video games in the past three months
  • Figure 53: Teen video game activity, 2022
• Not only have most teens played a game in the past three months, but half do so daily
  • Figure 54: Teen video game frequency, 2022
• Parents are seriously underestimating their kids’ gaming activity
  • Figure 55: My child has played a video game in the past 12 months (% agree), parents of tweens vs parents of teens, 2022
• An equal percentage of teens have played single and multiplayer games
  • Figure 56: Teen video game activities in the past three months, 2022
• • Figure 57: Fortnite Instagram post, August 2022
• Teen boys and girls engage in gaming activities differently
  • Figure 58: Video game activities in the past three months, teen boys vs teen girls, 2022
• Parents typically decide what programming is on in the house
  • Figure 59: Primary media decision-makers, 2022

Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations

• Data sources
• Consumer survey data
• Consumer qualitative research
• Mintel Trend Drivers
• Abbreviations and terms
• Abbreviations
• Terms