Old Navy Climbs 38 Spots in Pion's Gen Z Brand Ranking as Walmart Passes Nike

Pion’s PION100 U.S. report ranks the brands Americans aged 16 to 24 feel best about. Walmart took the top spot from Nike, and Old Navy posted the biggest affinity gain of any brand in the fashion top 10.

Which brands do young Americans feel best about? Pion, the verified-audience marketing platform behind the Student Beans marketplace, asked more than 2,000 US consumers aged 16 to 24 for the PION100 U.S. report, with respondents rating brands from a pool of over 1,000 across 13 sectors. Walmart finished first overall, passing Nike, the number-one brand in the previous edition. Nike held the top of the fashion category, and Old Navy climbed from #63 to #25 overall. Pion pre-released the PION100 to attendees at CJU in Santa Barbara on September 15, and the report becomes available to brands across the US one month later.

Walmart Takes the Top Spot

The overall top 10 by combined Love and Like score mixes retail, streaming and restaurants. Walmart leads at 87%, followed by Netflix at 86%, Nike at 86%, Target at 85%, Amazon Prime at 84%, Spotify at 82%, Buffalo Wild Wings at 81%, and Walgreens, Dairy Queen and Wendy’s tied at 80%.

Six of those 10 brands, Walmart, Target, Buffalo Wild Wings, Walgreens, Dairy Queen and Wendy’s, are built around physical locations. Pion’s release credits real-world experiences with turning attention into lasting brand relationships.

Pion’s release pairs two numbers, 73% of respondents budgeting carefully and 85% who like or love brands, and describes the job for brands as delivering both emotional connection and tangible value.

Nike Leads Fashion and Old Navy Makes the Biggest Move

Forty-four percent of 16- to 24-year-olds say they love to spend on fashion. The fashion top 10 runs Nike at 86%, Old Navy at 74%, Victoria’s Secret at 72%, Coach at 71%, Converse at 68%, Crocs at 66%, Under Armour, Calvin Klein and Levi’s at 64%, and UGG at 63%.

Old Navy climbed to #25 overall from #63, and its affinity score rose from 62% to 74%, the biggest gain of any fashion brand in the top 10. Pion credits trend-aligned drops like “The Occasion” dress collection, better denim and the new StudioSmooth activewear line with moving the brand past bargain basics, along with the Lindsay Lohan-fronted “New Moves” campaign.

Josephine Hansom, a youth researcher quoted in the report, set Old Navy’s shift next to Starbucks and Walmart. “Starbucks got back to being a coffee shop. Old Navy stopped competing on price and started competing on style. Nobody reinvented anything; they just got better at being who they already were. Walmart took a different route, letting Gen Z lead the way, and it paid off.”

Where Young Shoppers Find Brands

Social media leads discovery, with 44% of young Americans finding brands through organic social content and 38% through paid advertising. Pion’s release adds that recommendations play a critical role in building trust, with influencers, creators and word of mouth remaining key discovery channels.

The report also lists brands to watch, new discoveries for young consumers that sit outside the main ranking, including Nothing, poppi, rhode, Bloom, Oats Overnight, Owala, Olipop, eos, HOKA and Goodles.

“For years, brands have been asking the same question: how do you win Gen Z? The PION100 shows there isn’t one answer, because there isn’t one Gen Z consumer,” said Will Weeks, Chief Marketing Officer at Pion. “Young people are financially cautious, but they haven’t stopped caring about brands. They’re highly engaged, highly selective and increasingly strategic about where they spend their money.”

Weeks also described the brands at the top. “The brands winning today understand what young consumers genuinely value and deliver it consistently, whether that’s value, relevance, convenience, experience or simply being part of their everyday lives.”

How Pion Built the Ranking

More than 2,000 US consumers aged 16 to 24 took part in the research in July 2026. Each participant named the brand they had most recently discovered and where they discovered it, then rated around 50 brands on a five-point scale of Love, Like, Indifferent, Dislike and Hate. The ranking combines the Love and Like responses, and each brand was rated by a minimum of 100 young people.

About Pion

Pion helps brands run and promote gated offer programs for high-value consumer groups, and reaches young shoppers through its Student Beans and BeansiD marketplaces.