Online retailers benefit as back to school shoppers tighten belts
90% of UK consumers will conduct their back to school shopping online this year, with the majority making purchases in August, according to research from Rakuten Advertising.
In early September, children and university students throughout the UK will return to school. For many, this will be for the first time since government closed schools in late March.
Rakuten Advertising surveyed 758 UK consumers with primary, secondary school and university aged children, along with university students who purchase their own items. 75% of parents and 59% of university students have suffered financial hardship as a result of Covid-19 and will be looking to prioritise spend on items they deem essential.
80% of primary and secondary school parents have a budget of under £500, with 31% of that allocated to clothing and 23% to cleanliness products. The likes of facemasks, hand sanitisers and tissues have this year beaten purchases of traditional items (21%) such as notebooks and stationary.
These shifts in purchase behaviour are echoed by parents of university students, with cleanliness products (27%) being more heavily invested in than even technology (19%). In addition, only 29% of university parents will spend between £500-£1,000 on back to school supplies this year, with 80% of university students looking at less than £500.
Nick Fletcher, SVP Northern Europe at Rakuten Advertising, comments: “Given the unprecedented circumstances of this year, it’s not surprising that what shoppers now deem essential for going back to school has shifted.”
“Remaining flexible and open to pivoting on product-led campaigns, based on the items that are performing best with consumers will benefit brands looking to engage with consumers and the products they’re searching for during this period.”
The availability of discounts and offers will be essential to driving purchases, he adds. Partnering with publishers that promote discounts, such as deal and offer sites, or cashback and rewards publishers, can help brands engage price conscious shoppers.
Brands should also look to optimise partnerships with unique student publishers that target and reach university students during this peak purchase month of August, he concludes.
