(Length: 16 pages)

Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Raised on the Internet, young consumers between the ages of 13 and 21 give retailers a run for their money. A powerful combination of social and Web connections has turned 13- to 21-year-olds into an empowered group that relies on advice from friends and new Web tools to research and purchase. Apparel and groceries eat up most of the youth budget, but apparel retailers face a particularly tough challenge with younger female teens: They change loyalties to retailers quickly, and style, an impossibly subjective measure, drives their loyalty. But there's hope: Teens do see and use viral marketing advertising in games and on cell phones, and — most importantly — are not disloyal by nature. This makes it imperative for retailers to take advantage of a new generation of Web technologies and speak the same language as the online wired youth do to generate brand affinity with them as young as possible.