In some encouraging news for traditional retailers, more than three-fourths of teens said they preferred shopping brick-and-mortar stores, according to a new survey.

Investment banking company Piper Jaffray & Company's 25th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens poll of 5,000 young men and women revealed that 78% of females prefer in-store shopping, while 75% of males did. The survey also found that nearly 70% of teens prefer to shop the websites of their favorite store-based retailers. Approximately 79% of females and 76% of males shop online, and respondents indicated that roughly 18% of their spending is online.

The survey also revealed that approximately 53% of females and 52% of males indicated that social media impacts their purchases, with Facebook being the most important, followed closely by Twitter and Instagram. But the popularity of Facebook is waning among teens, with only 33% citing it as the most important—down from 42% six months ago.

"Our spring 2013 survey results suggest teens have a heightened sense of awareness surrounding seasonal spending fluctuations and broader macroeconomic sensitivities," said Stephanie Wissink, principal, co-director of investment research and senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray. "Spending has moderated across discretionary categories for both upper-income and average-income teens when compared to the prior year and prior season. Yet nearly two-thirds of respondents view the economy as consistent to improving, and just over half signaled an intent to spend 'more' on key categories of interest, particularly fashion and status brand merchandise."

The survey polled teens about their spending in fashion, beauty and personal care, restaurants, digital media, gaming and wireless communication. The fashion category accounts for roughly 40% of teen budgets, consistent with previous surveys' findings.

Nearly 91% of teens plan to purchase a smartphone, with approximately 60% biased toward Apple's iPhone and 21% likely to buy an Android device. Approximately 48% of teens own an iPhone, up from 40% six months ago, the survey found. Tablet ownership also continues to grow, with 51% of teens owning a tablet computer, up from 44% in fall 2012—with 68% of teens owning Apple's iPad.

For more information on the survey, visit www.piperjaffray.com.

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