Back-to-School Marketing

Given inflationary pressures and impending recessionary fears, sales events will play an even larger role for back-to-school and college shoppers. 

MasterCard Economics Institute’s data on consumers’ use of credit cards shows that more shoppers have resumed looking for bargains and promotional discounts. Brand loyalty is out the window amid this landscape, and with 77% of consumers saying they will switch brands if prices are too high, brands and retailers are having to find new ways to court once-faithful customers before they’re swept off their feet by better deals from competitors. For consumers looking to save, Amazon’s Prime Days have become the unofficial starting point for the back-to-school shopping season, and retailers that stage competing promotions during Prime Days are expected to be very focused on the discount message, with ‘Black Friday in July’ deals.

In 2023, 49% of back-to-school shoppers researched online before purchasing in-store, down from from 60% in 2022. Online shopping is unlikely to crumble anytime soon as many parents have grown accustomed to its convenience and savings -- Amazon Prime Days and competing retailers’ promotions certainly took their share of the back-to-school spend online.  Shoppers favour retailers with competitive pricing - mass merchants (80%), online retailers (60%), and off-price retailers and dollar stores (33%). 

Gen Z is a big contributor to online shopping, 52% of Gen Z in the US prefer to shop online, while 48% prefer to shop in-store.

As many brands frame their campaigns around inflation by offering discounts, other brands are looking to communicate value in less direct ways. Value to parents, for example, may also mean an emphasis on their child’s mental health, leading them to spend 8% more than average this season, per Deloitte. Sustainability is also a growing value consideration - consumers who are in the market for sustainable back-to-school products are willing to spend 22 percent more to buy from retailers who sell sustainable products.

Generation Alpha represents the first post Gen Z category to age into schooling, with the “oldest” Gen Alpha members turning 14 this year. By 2025, it's estimated that there will be more than 2 billion Alphas worldwide. And, with highly engaged millennials as parents, Gen Alpha is already influencing buying decisions: three in five US parents say they look to their kids for what to buy when back-to-school shopping, and another 70% of millennial parents say they’ve made purchases related to their child’s favorite character or show. What does this mean for brands wanting to reach this latest power base? For one, they’ll need to up their digital game: Almost two out of three children ages 8 to 11 have access to a smartphone, and many of these kids have unique digital savviness due to their school experience during the pandemic.  For another, as the most diverse generation yet, they’re also proving to respond to efforts around inclusivity, sustainability, and social impact.

The back-to-school season runs from mid-July to mid-September, but consumers are also on the hunt for good deals sooner. Whether it be to stretch out their budget, plan for possible product delays or take advantage of deals and promotions, consumers are looking to get a head start on their shopping so it’s good practice to start preparing for back-to-school promotions and marketing campaigns earlier than ever. For retailers, offering discount coupons that customers can use for future school purchases can be a great way to increase sales during the vital back-to-school period. Sending digital receipts via email is another great way to organically collect customer contact information over the year and build an email list to fuel back-to-school marketing. But keep in mind that the back-to-school season is long. Be sure to keep the latecomers in mind who want to scoop up last-minute deals.

Back-to-school season is a hectic time for parents with multiple school children. Help them shop by streamlining the shopping experience.

Generate Shopping Guides & Checklists: One of the ways to simplify the back-to-school shopping experience is to provide guides or checklists. These help consumers know which products to buy and find items easily in-store. Retailers like Target have worked to streamline the process by making school supply lists available online, easily searchable via zipcode. Turn browsers into shoppers by allowing them to checkout directly from the shopping list.

Offer back-to-school bundles: 46% of shoppers purchased preconfigured supply kits in 2022, because they save money and cut down on the time it takes to find everything they need before the school year begins. These bundles might include everything from basic school supplies to snacks, high-tech devices, and sports gear. For brands, this helps move inventory, increase basket size, and increase revenue.

Target back-to-school shoppers by giving them special discounts via specific back-to-school promotions:

Have Special Discounts for Education Personnel: When it comes to the back-to-school season, teachers need to prepare themselves as much as students. However, unlike students, they might have different priorities and budgeting concerns that affect their buying decisions. This allows retailers to differentiate themselves by giving special attention to teachers when offering discounts. Target does a great job with this by holding its yearly Teacher Prep Event where a 15% discount on select back-to-school items is offered at its stores.

Create Engaging Contests and Sweepstakes: A promotional contest or sweepstake is a highly motivating back-to-school marketing solution -- especially when paired with a higher value prize or reward. When developing a back-to-school contest, consider rewards such as laptops, iPads, clothes or gift cards to large retail supply stores. Add an influencer and promo code into the mix, and your social reach gets even bigger!

Piggy-Back on Back-To-School Shopping: Not all brands typically sell back-to-school products. For those that want to piggyback on the season, they can tie up with retail stores to offer back-to-school-themed purchase incentives. Restaurants, for example, can offer discounts on meals with a back-to-school purchase receipt.

The biggest back-to-school retailers, including Walmart, Target, and Amazon, rely on digital advertising more and more to reach their customers before the school year starts. But when it comes to completing a transaction, consumers prefer an omnichannel shopping experience -- they’re using a mix of channels to make sure their shopping trips are hassle-free and convenient. Research also shows that 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned, which leaves a lot of money behind for retailers. Providing an omnichannel strategy where consumers can pick up in stores where they leave off online creates a frictionless shopping experience for parents, teachers, and students throughout the shopping funnel.

Display Back-to-School Products on Special Webpages & Online Menus: Brands can provide tailor made content for back-to-school items to help guide shoppers. Dedicated microsites and landing pages can help promote products, provide resources for customers, and show up in keyword searches for back to school.

Enable Social Shopping: Deloitte’s back-to-school survey shows that 35% of back-to-school shoppers plan to use social media to assist in shopping. Shopping directly from social media platforms is becoming increasingly popular and is also a way to engage with customers, update them with the latest offerings, and show them how to use branded products.

Create Strategic Displays For Brick and Mortar: Compared to previous years, shoppers are more confident shopping in stores, with 45% of shoppers planning to turn to department stores for their back-to-school shopping. For retailers and brands, this is a great opportunity to turn prime in-store real estate into back-to-school blowout displays that lure customers.

Gen Z makes up the largest cohort of students at the moment, since they are now both secondary school and university age. They’re also the generation of digital natives, turning to social media platforms for school shopping inspiration. With 80% of Gen Z having purchased a product they discovered on social media, marketers will be leveraging social channels to cement relationships with them during the back-to-school season. TikTok in particular will provide opportunities for a wider variety of brands, as students are using it to connect with more retail categories than ever before, such as credit cards, furniture, groceries, and cleaning supplies -- in addition to traditional categories like apparel and technology. But it’s more than just old-school labels staking a claim on TikTok. Gen Z influencers are also lifting smaller, independent brands up from their relatively unknown statuses, and propelling them on to the digital pathways of millions of users. For brands looking to become visible on TikTok, consider the following ways:

Offer Hacks and Tips: Create content aligned with popular hashtags like #LifeHack and #EduTok with billions of views each. For Gen Z, learning something fun can open the door to deeper brand engagement.

Optimize TikTok SEO: Gen Z uses TikTok like Google, meaning they’re searching for the products they want directly within the platform. Brands need to make sure their content is easily discoverable, by including keywords, hashtags and optimized content for engagement.

Use Gen Z Student Influencers: One study from Voxburner found that 85% of Generation Z would like to see more diverse representation in advertising. By actively including target audiences within a campaign, brands can demonstrate an understanding for this generation’s desire for greater inclusion.