Finally, schools are reopening after a long break. And the parents and students have started preparing for a robust back-to-school shopping season. However, this time it will be a bit challenging due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority of parents will opt for online shopping instead of traditional retail stores.
Thus, the retailers won’t be able to upsell the customers similarly. However, there are many ways the retailers can upscale their business and improve the margin on the back-to-school shopping season. However, this time, the demand for children’s products, such as stationeries, lunch packs, and toys, has been increasing tremendously. In addition, this year, sanitary masks, disposable gloves, and sanitizers will be part of schooling accessories apart from the basic school necessities.
In 2020, the average spending on back-to-school spending was almost $789. 49 per household. This time, the consumers are expected to spend nearly 39% of the total back-to-school spending on eCommerce stores. According to the Deloitte survey held from May 27 to June 5, 2021, families from kindergarten to high school are planning to spend almost $12.5 billion online.
Overall, this year, consumers will spend 16% more from the 2020 back-to-school budget. They plan to spend $612 per student and, in total, $32.5 billion.
Let’s take a look at the preferences this survey found out.
- 64% of people used personal computers, and 46% of them used smartphones for online shopping. However, these numbers are expected to increase up to 67% to 58%, individually.
- 42% of parents will use social media to assess and compare the value of the products.
- Meanwhile, 44% of people plan to use the latest technologies, such as digital wallets, most-preferred offerings, virtual reality, and chatbots, for their purchases.
- 34% of parents plan to use Omnichannel services, such as buying online pickup in-store and curbside pickup.
- Due to the back-to-school peak time, 50% of shoppers are worried about the stock-outs, and 59% are expected to occur by the end of July.
- The spending on technical products, such as wearables, tablets, smartphones, computers, etc., is expected to reach $11.8 billion.
- This year, online stores are the most preferred format for online shopping, with 74% of people agreeing. Meanwhile, 49% of parents are planning for retail stores and 41% at dollar stores.
Furthermore, when you observe the college returning consumers,
- 34% of the consumer is planning to spend more on college necessities.
- The newcomers will spend more on technology than the previous year.
In a nutshell, the overlook of the eCommerce economy is positive. 55% of parents of kindergarten and high school students and 46% of the parents of college students are opting for eCommerce for their back-to-school shopping. And 78% of K-12 parents and 75% of college parents are saying that they are in a better financial situation than the previous year.
