Back-to-school shopping—including school supplies and electronics—is expected to grow dramatically in the ecommerce channel in 2016, mirroring the growing channel share for ecommerce in licensed product sales overall, as consumers shop for savings.
While back-to-school shoppers are still heading primarily to bricks-and-mortar stores, they are increasingly purchasing traditional school supplies online. In 2015, the ecommerce channel gained $90 million in dollar share growth versus brick-and-mortar, according to The NPD Group. All in all, nearly 35% of the $11.8 billion spent annually in the U.S. on traditional school supplies and about half of all unit sales occur in the back-to-school period.
A separate study from advertising buying platform Rubicon Project shows that a majority of parents will be buying electronics for their students online. The survey found that a majority of parents will do their electronics shopping on Amazon (61%), while Wal-Mart leads for apparel (66%) and school supplies (77%). In 2015, Wal-Mart was the No. 1 back-to-school shopping destination at 61%, while Amazon took second with 58%. Other top retailers for back-to-school shopping are Best Buy and Target.
Source: Rubicon Project | |||
Product Category | K-12 Parents | College Freshmen Parents | |
---|---|---|---|
Apparel/Retail | $233 | $273 | |
Technology | $343 | $470 | |
Telecommunications | $173 | $192 | |
Mobile Devices | $216 | $246 | |
School Supplies | $130 | $233 | |
Food & Beverages | $152 | $219 |
Regardless of what retailers they buy from, about half of all tech purchases will be made online or via a mobile device, Rubicon found, with 66% of parents doing at least some shopping from their tablet or smartphone.
According to Rubicon, more will be spent on technology products this season than on any other category, including apparel and school supplies, and most parents (61%) plan to spend more than last year.
The National Retail Federation, which will release its official consumer spending survey this week, expects parents to spend about the same as last year, however. Based on a survey of 6,800 parents conducted by Prosper Insight & Analytics, NRF found that 54% of households with kids 6–17 are planning to spend the same as last year for back to school (compared to 57% who said the same thing last year), while 37% of parents with children heading to college said they are planning to spend the same as last year (up from 35% in 2015).
NRF says parents are getting savvy about shopping for savings, including shopping later in the season, using coupons and circulars, and buying more store brands and generic products. Target is one retailer that will appeal directly to these price-conscious shoppers: It is rolling out its new house brand Cat & Jack kids and babies clothing (replacing the Circo and Cherokee brands) with a one-year guarantee.
NPD concurs with the savvy shoppers finding: “Consumers are spending more online and it is occurring later in the season, with a seasonal arc forming from the first week of August and lasting through mid-September. Back-to-school online share will continue to grow, making it even more essential for retailers and manufacturers to optimize their omnichannel strategies,” said Leen Nsouli, Director & Office Supplies Industry Analyst, The NPD Group.
This year there will be two fewer shopping days between July 4th and Labor Day, which will have an effect on spending, as will fewer sales tax-free days by states than last year, NPD predicts.