Top Marks: How Retailers Can Stay One Step Ahead of Savvy Back-to-School Shoppers

For many retailers, the back-to-school season is one of the biggest events of the year — and 2023 is looking to be no exception.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), total expected spending will be $890 per U.S. household for back-to-school shopping in 2023, for a total of $41.5 billion. Back to college looks to be even more lucrative at $1,367 per household for a projected total of $94 billion. That means there’s a total of $135.5 billion in revenue up for grabs this year.

Electronics top the list for most wanted purchases with both back-to-school and back-to-college shoppers. Both groups will be looking to spend big on clothing and accessories as well. Back-to-school shoppers will also be focused on shoes, while back-to-college shoppers look to spend big on furniture for their dorms.

One note of caution: shoppers have noticed higher prices in their top categories, and they’re modifying their behavior accordingly. The NRF’s research shows that shoppers are planning to:

• Do more comparative online shopping, which means you’ll need to have your products online with detailed product descriptions and locally targeted ads to be in the running.
• Look for more sales, so make sure you advertise your deals loudly and often.
• Buy generic store brand products, which presents the biggest hurdle for retailers offering premium products — make sure customers know why spending a little more on something is worth it in the long run.

Navigating Back to School 2023: Expected Trends

With 2023 shoppers being budget-conscious, retailers need to go all-out on discounts and value over flashy new product trends.

Comparative Shopping Online Will Increase Competition

Google is a driving force in the back-to-school shopping experience. In fact, one survey found that 59 percent of shoppers use the search engine to research products before they buy.

With back-to-school promotions ramping up all around them, potential customers will be heading to Google to find the best deals.

Retailers looking to get ahead of the competition will be using tools like Pointy ads by Google, which power inventory-specific ads at the top of Google searches. If someone within a set radius searches for backpacks near me, and you carry backpacks, the retailer’s inventory will be among the results they see. Retailers without these kinds of ads will struggle with discovery.

Busy Shoppers Will Find Ways to Skip Long Back-to-School Lines

Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) options remain popular amongst shoppers — almost one-third of online shoppers in the U.S. picked up an online purchase in-store last year.

BOPIS represents the best of both worlds for busy back-to-school shoppers trying to beat long lines: they don’t need to wait to purchase school supplies or wait on delivery times.

To make sure retailers can handle curbside pickup and BOPIS orders without causing confusion, they’ll need:

• An e-commerce inventory system that automatically syncs with in-store inventory. No one wants to accidentally sell the same item twice, after all.
• More employee training on how to monitor and close online orders for pickup, including procedures for setting items in the orders aside.
• A contactless way to pay at pickup for customers who opt not to pay online.

Make Online Ease a Priority

Although most back-to-school shoppers will go between online and brick-and-mortar stores, the way to secure loyalty is often through online ease. For younger consumers, personalization is an important aspect of this. Gen Z consumers seek convenience and offering up suggestions based on past purchases is central to this. However, increasing payment options remains paramount for customers of all ages. Expanding your e-commerce payment choices will increase cart conversion and revenue.

• For online, consider digital wallets. As of 2022, 71 percent of consumers said they always or sometimes used this method for security and convenience.
• Buy now, pay later (BNPL)  is increasingly popular as inflation continues to rise. It's estimated that by 2026, BNPL will comprise 25 percent of online transactions.
• Streamline the checkout process. Examine your steps and simplify where you can. From a box that can be checked to auto-populating the shipping and billing addresses to offering an optional guest checkout, the more seamless it is to make a purchase the better!

Steep Sales Will Define the Season

Having favorable discounts available could mean the difference between a familiar retailer and a competitor for budget-conscious back-to-school shoppers.

Shoppers will be looking for a mix of discounts, like:

• Clearances: The tried and true 25 percent off — or more — sale. Retailers should consider identifying overstock and surplus inventory that, while useful for back to school, might not be the latest styles of shoes or notebooks. Moving these products with a steep discount is a win-win; customers get good deals, and businesses get clear shelves for the holidays.
• Buy one, get one … discounts: Back-to-school shopping often means buying supplies in bulk. If a customer can get four packs of pencils or two pairs of gym shoes for a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal, they might use their savings for a bigger basket.
• Bulk discounts: Let’s say you’re an apparel retailer — remember how many parents have school kids excited for new clothes? Bulk discounts would help you draw those parents in.

Retailers Wanting to Sell More Will Go for Premium Customer Service

If budget-conscious customers are going to pay more this year, it will be because the experience was worth it.

Well-educated, well-trained sales associates will make all the difference. Retailers that can equip their employees with sales tools to help boost product knowledge — like iPad point-of-sale systems — will be more likely to move expensive items that consumers might hesitate about.

A lack of friction is a built-in luxury for customers during their buying process. Knowing what's available for them and being able to make suggestions with ease, either in sizing, alternative styles or at another location is something that makes an impression and can capture an otherwise lost sale. For Toronto’s Riverdale Mac, President Myles Kesten knows having up-to-the-moment numbers is part of the preparation.

“We look at all of our inventory across our three stores and see where we put things and where we didn’t," Kesten notes. "The reporting features in [our point of sale solution] are pretty critical to our success. We have managers talking back and forth between the stores as to who has what, why, and moving things around. Until we know what the hot products are going to be, we’re busily trying to optimize our inventory to get rid of dusty merchandise.”

School is in Session

Don’t be caught off guard this season. Arm yourself with the best tools to stay on top of back-to-school essentials and in-demand trends, as well as have a clear picture of your inventory. Customers are increasingly savvy with their comparison searches, investigation of reviews and pursuit of the best price. Give yourself an advantage showcasing your best deals on landing pages, email marketing campaigns and across social media. Above all, educate your staff to have any necessary inventory information at their fingertips for recommendations. If there’s one lesson to take away from this back-to-school season, it’s that providing superior service is the way to set yourself apart from the competition.

Ana Wight is general manager, retail at Lightspeed Commerce, a fast, intuitive POS and payments platform.