Kohl’s on Wednesday launched another set of promotions aimed at back-to-school shoppers, after advertising “thousands of products under $25” for the season last month.
The department store on Tuesday said it is slashing prices as much as 50% on a range of school supplies, apparel and beauty items. There will be opportunities to earn $10 in Kohl’s cash for every $50 spent, which can go toward a future purchase. Over the weekend the retailer is running a giveaway where customers can receive $5 to $100 in Kohl’s cash while supplies last.
Kohl’s has relied on value pricing to woo customers, and that appears to be gaining some traction, according to research from Placer.ai. In Q2 store visits fell 1.4% compared to a year ago, a much smaller decline than in Q1, when visits dropped by nearly 8%.
Retailers are scrambling to win over consumers, who have become choosy about how they spend their money as gas and grocery prices gobble up their budgets. Offering deals may not be enough because shoppers are carefully weighing not just how much something costs but also how badly they want it, according to a recent Circana report. The setup suggests that back-to-school season could be “moderate at best,” those researchers found.
Morgan Stanley analysts led by Alex Straton said Monday that they are “slightly more cautious” compared to trade groups and others that portend a strong back-to-school season. A month ago the National Retail Federation said it expects back-to-school sales to grow nearly 10% compared to last year and reach $43.3 billion.
“A later build remains possible, but for now, we expect conservative 3Q guidance, & absent a demand inflection, believe consensus estimates may prove a touch too high,” Morgan Stanley said in their research note.
Retail sales were fairly robust during the first half of the year, but that could change in Q3 as many retailers lap the period last year when tariffs kicked in, some analysts say.
