NEW YORK, United States — Millennial shoppers are reaching their prime spending years, and Generation Z isn't far behind. That has brands scrambling to curry favour with young consumers.

So far, the companies doing the best job are Victoria’s Secret, Sephora and Nike, according to a report from Condé Nast Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. They ranked highest in a study, which measured the popularity of brands among younger US shoppers.

A key contributor to the companies’ success is their online presence, researchers found. Among men, Amazon.com was voted the favourite retailer across all categories, and it was the top shopping app for women.

“These next generation consumers were born with their phones in their hands, they’re addicted to technology and expect a level of efficiency and immediacy in everything they do,” Pamela Drucker Mann, chief marketing officer of Condé Nast, said in an email. “Looking at what they’re doing is like a preview for all shoppers.”

Companies are increasingly working to make it easier to shop seamlessly online. That will serve them well as more than one-third of US apparel shopping is conducted online, according to the study, which looked at trends in fashion, retail and beauty categories based on a national sample of 2,345 US consumers ages 13 to 34. It was conducted from November 22 to December 15.

Source: Condé Nast Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Traditional retailers are touting their e-commerce efforts whenever they can. Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands Inc. brought up the “online” topic 12 times during its February earnings call.

Athletic apparel maker Lululemon Athletica Inc., which ranked eighth on the list, has said beefing up its online business is a priority for the months ahead.

"We will continue executing the immediate and longer-term strategies in place to accelerate our e-commerce growth," chief executive officer Laurent Potdevin said on an earnings call last month. That will include expanding the online product assortment and launching a new mobile app, he added.

As for Amazon, the e-commerce giant was the study’s overall “Most-Loved Brand,” placing in the top 10 across all fashion categories.

By Julie Verhage, with assistance from Lisa Du; editors: Nick Turner, Lisa Wolfson.