As geeky as it may sound, I really enjoyed going Back to School! (*and you did too, but you’re not ready to admit it, yet – wink) It was the perfect excuse to get a new wardrobe. Oh, and the smell of paper; and the doors of creativity that blank pages open; and the pretty colors of all the pens and pencils. Anyone relating? Oh, there you go! You just remembered your first day of school!
Going out last night with some friends, we reminisced about the summer vacays that made most of the difference – not because they meant taking time off, but because we had enough to rest, refuel and get ready for a new school year. They tricked us into growing up with 21 days-a-year rest instead! And we bit, ha! (*we took the wrong classes, I’m telling you!)
Anyhow, back to the chills of getting ready for a new school year, I don’t really know how it worked for you, but in my family, that also came with a budget of its own – which was, usually my mom’s. Now, we’re at the point of being moms ourselves… And dads, of course. Moreover, our customers are moms and dads… And teens. And they’re all going Back to School in a few weeks.
So, how can we support them?
Well, in order to answer that, let’s first take 6 regular students and 6 of their regular parents. BizReport says that 3 in 6 students and 5 in 6 parents make about half their Back to School shopping in-store. The rest of 50% scholars (and 10% adults) acquire online or through other channels. This means that only 20 – 25% would purchase Back to School articles online. But also adding that half the parents encourage their teens to make the final purchasing decisions, yes, I’d say there’s hope for online marketers.
What about the rest of them, then? They choose mixed tactics of passing goods from older to younger generations or getting them from their close networks or buying all year round. Another CNBC study announces that 39% will reuse last year’s items. That’s a 13 percentage points increase in comparison to 5 years ago!
So, what are they doing online, instead? The first report from above states that 40% of those students and 66% of parents browse online before going in-stores to close the deal.
Oh, okay, they’re just researching. That’s great insight, actually.
It comes with these two hot A-ha Moments that will become our main directions for increasing this season’s Back to School sales volumes:
- As proverbial as it may sound, your customers need to validate that their best line is Online!
- Houston, we’re not losing it; we’re losing them! Right before they push the final button. In order to drop abandonment rates, we need to improve our checkout processes!
In order to set up a feasible marketing plan, you need to know whom you’re aiming at. Lately, Back to School campaigns have been getting closer in both complexity and volume to the sprees following them. We explain the process in our How Holidays influence E-Commerce article if you need to have the whole picture. A DigiDay article even shows the exact shares…
… and here’s how Back to School / College is different.
What do customers buy and when do they start buying for Back to School?
In a $630 total amount, this would be the budget breakdown: customers attribute the greatest part of it to clothing and accessories – told ya’ it was all about the new wardrobe.
Next, they invest in electronics or computer related equipment. The volume is not necessarily bigger, but their value is higher than other categories.
Lately, though, this division is considered less and less to be part of the Back to School budget, since the greater Black Friday discounts push their acquisition a couple of months later. The school supplies category is the exact opposite to electronics – larger volume with lower value. That’s how we end up with a 16% of the budget dispersed to this category.
Back to School operations usually start as early as August and end as late as November – during the Black Friday campaign. According to a Strutta study, in mid-August, 85% of adults are still actively shopping.
It mainly depends on when the school year starts and the categories the children fall into. Our data is appropriate for the American school year, but usually, the shopping time starts a month – a month and ½ before the school year.
Additionally, discounts stand for a new determinant – one that becomes more and more important in purchase behavior. Our customers are increasingly interested in paying the lowest possible price, so they’re quite comfortable with waiting for the Holiday’s sales.
In terms of low prices, august is the most appropriate time to shop for dorm room furniture. A very interesting aspect of the Back to School merchandising is that it ends as abruptly as it starts. Two days into the school year and all the shops are empty as if no campaign had ever taken place. It’s like they’re severely set on this unadjustable period of time and they pull the plug as soon as they hear the first bell.
Closer to the end of the campaign, customers benefit from steeper discounts that they trade in for less diversity.
A new trend regarding cheaper textbooks is to get them late September – early October online, used, from sites such as Amazon.
Back to School Shopping Challenges
What challenges do our customers face during the Back to School shopping spree? What don’t they appreciate about this entire process?
Remember when your mom dragged you all over the giant retail stores in search for the perfect uniform? Or, even worse, into all the stationery deposits, just so she would get the lowest price?
This is the first inconvenience about Back to School – running around the town, comparing prices.
Another major pain is that of acquiring unnecessary schoolbooks. It happens and it’s not at all rare to be asked to buy a certain, peppery priced workbook which, in the end, students don’t even get to use as much.
These are our customers’ main concerns and disappointments – placement and pricing. This is where we need to adjust our strategies to make their lives easier.
Lucky us, online shopping solves a great deal of these problems. So, where do we find them to break the big news?
How and where do we shop for getting Back to School?
A) Parents
- We find 73% of moms on Pinterest, wish listing.
- Dads tend to spend a bit more than women because they buy more electronics.
- Parents have highly sensitive radars for prices and special offers. The same Strutta article cited above, states that almost 70% of adults are influenced by brand sales, coupons, and promotions.
- Not all families own a car. That’s why today’s parents appreciate shipping… a lot!
- Their game plan goes accordingly to these steps:
- First, they hit the mass retailers
- Secondly, they go into stationary specials
- And lastly, they hit the electronics stores.
Can you see the descending prices range?
B) Teens
- When purchasing, they’re quite patient. Teens take the time to search for product reviews and compare prices online. They’ve learned this cautious behavior from their parents, during the 2008 recession.
- They buy clothes all year round, so they don’t need to invest specifically when going back to school. Instead of changing their entire wardrobe, they find it more appropriate to combine the old with the new into something original, making it quite difficult for retailers to come up with feasible solutions.
- A key characteristic of today’s teen generation is that they want to personalize everything, they want to be cool and stand for something, so they make statements through their dress style.
- They’re tech savvy. They have apps now and appreciate recommendations based on geo tracking.
An INC Study showed how:
- 27% of parents and 34% of students were mostly convinced by retargeting advertising campaigns
- Even greater percentages, respectively, 45% of parents and 40% of students pay attention especially to personalized advertising
8 Back to School Marketing Ideas that Will Drive Sales to Your Shop
- Bucket Price Personalization!
Customers today love their prices low and their offers unique, special. Do more: give them both! Take into consideration their family’s structure (such as: the number of kids and their ages) and come up with Bucket Prices. You can promote a Family Basket with diverse supplies and a 10% off coupon attached or those “2 at the price of 1” combinations tailored to their needs.
- Set the shipping free!
Yeah, we mean FREE Shipping!
- Engage your users on Social Media!
Run a Facebook campaign or a Pinterest contest! These are the two main platforms that you’re not allowed to miss, simply because that’s where they search for reviews.
Contest Ideas:
- For the greatest number of shares, do a Shopper of the Week campaign with their family picture on your Facebook page and HomePage.
- For the highest number of repinning your products on their Pinterest boards, feature their child on your Back to School campaign poster!
- Come up with a mascot that they’d have to chase around town and post on social media and for the most focused user offer a professional family photo shoot.
- To kids who convince their parents to buy your brand in a mass retailer, give them tickets to a music fest.
- Addictive Game Apps
Develop one of those simple, but addictive game apps, that make their lives funnier for no reason, such as:
- A game to spot your mascot or posters or a certain, hidden symbol.
- A game to identify and take a photo with as many of your staff members
- Do you want more? Maybe something traditional marketing wise?
A fun way to market your business is adding adjacent services to it. For instance:
- Team up with an ice-cream service and give the kids free ice creams every day after school for a week.
- Each Saturday, for a month, broadcast an educational movie.
- Organize after hours sports competitions.
- Free transportation to your store!
In two of your most busy weeks, put up special maxi taxi routes to comfortably drive them from wherever they are to your store.
- Organize Unrelated Events!
Set up some fun events before school starts. Here are a few ideas:
- Last neighborhood BBQ before school starts.
- Last ‘80s party before School starts
- “Pokemon Go!” Party or game session for that matter
- A book exchange event where kids can swap schoolbooks, as well.
Only two things to keep in mind: Knowing and deeply understanding your customers is about getting to know their values and sense of worth!
When offering freebies to your customers, this is your starting point:
- What are your customers’ values and where does their sense of worth come from?
- They want a personal, adaptive and valuable experience. How can I make this experience personal, adaptable and valuable to my customers?
And please do me a little favor and share this guide with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their marketing endeavors.
Do you have further ideas that could improve this year’s Back to School campaign? Do share your awesome ideas in the comment section below.
