Marti Tedesco

The back-to-school (BTS) season is dwarfed by the year-end holiday season, but with close to $75B at stake this BTS season, it's no small matter for retailers. A recent survey by e-commerce personalization software provider Baynote, in conjunction with the e-tailing group, looked at the behavior of today's BTS consumer and offered insights that are useful to retailers which want to make the most of the short but sweet BTS season. Here are four key takeaways that retailers should heed:

Recently, my son had a great shopping experience with one of his favorite brands, JackThreads. After an initial search for a hip backpack turned up empty, JackThreads sent him a personalized email 24 hours later to recommended backpacks suited to his "hipster" preferences. Just two years ago he would never have received such a personalized and helpful email. Retail industry watchers say they expect retail to change more in the next five years than it has in the last 100, and this is just one example of how.