Dive Brief:
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A vast majority (85%) of shoppers say that most of their back-to-school dollars are going to physical stores this year, according to a survey from research firm Market Track. That tracks with other research showing that almost all consumers prefer to shop in physical stores. According to research from eMarketer, shoppers spent 6% of total retail dollars (including spending on gas and automobiles) online during the back-to-school season in 2014, compared to 9% online during the holiday shopping season.
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Market Track found that kids are a major influence on their parents’ back-to-school shopping. Some 80% of kids affect what and where their parents shop for back-to-school, and they’re getting a lot of their information from the web.
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Contrary to research from the National Retail Federation and others, some 90% of shoppers said they’ll spend the same or more than last year for back-to-school, according to Market Track’s survey of 1,000 shoppers conducted in August.
Dive Insight:
Despite the robust growth in digital sales, most people still do their shopping in physical stores, and back-to-school is no different.
Still, when it comes to marketing, it does depend on what one means by “shopping.” Many shoppers, and their kids, do a lot of their pre-purchase research on products on the web before they head to stores, according to Market Track’s survey. That means that web-based marketing and advertisements may be key, even though shoppers are ultimately heading to retailers to buy. Most parents (75%) still look a print circulars for back-to-school shopping prep, while 43% of kids use them. But 30% of kids use retail websites and 21% use social media to see what is on sale.
“Back-to-school is a unique event, in that there are opportunities to really maximize the impact of advertising and messaging through targeting the right audience, in the right media type,” Market Track marketing VP Traci Gregorski said in a statement.“Kids have more influence than ever as to what is bought for back-to-school through their interactions with new media. More retailers have been targeting specific back-to-school stakeholders with their promotional messaging in July and August. Whether you talk about Office Depot appealing to teachers last year, or Macy’s targeting students for the second year in a row, retailers are revealing a more segmented approach through their choice of message and audience.”