American families spent a staggering $41.5 billion on K-12 back to school shopping in 2023, according to Capital One Shopping Research. With parents shelling out nearly $600 per child on average, there’s a massive opportunity for retailers to cash in.
August is when the spending really heats up, so it’s time to get ready. From strategic preparation to streamlining your store with the best retail technology, we’ll show you how to navigate the back-to-school rush. Let’s dive in!
Back to School Sales: Americans Trends to Check Out
Back to school is the second-largest retail season after the winter holidays, offering immense opportunities for retailers. In 2023, the average household in the U.S. budgeted $890.07 for back to school shopping, reflecting significant consumer spending.
This season’s spending isn’t limited to K-12 school supplies; it also includes college students, broadening the range of preferred sales categories. Key categories of spending in 2023 were:
- Electronics and Computer Supplies: Averaging $325.96 per household.
- Clothing and Accessories: Households spent an average of $257.12.
- Shoes: The average expenditure was $166.59 per household.
- School Supplies: The most affordable category, costing $140.39 per household.
Customer Shopping Preferences
Understanding customer shopping preferences is crucial for capitalizing on back to school sales. Modern retailers must adopt a hybrid approach, combining e-commerce with traditional in-store shopping. Here are some 2023 back to school sales statistics:
- In-Store Purchases: 74% of shoppers planned to buy back-to-school supplies in-store.
- Online Purchases: 56% of shoppers planned to purchase online.
- Hybrid Approach: 41% of shoppers intended to split their spending between online and in-store purchases.
Leveraging Technology and Customer Reviews
Today’s shopping experience heavily relies on customer reviews and detailed product descriptions. To remain competitive, retailers should ensure their products are available online with comprehensive descriptions and locally targeted ads.
Additionally, higher prices due to inflation have increased the popularity of generic brands, as customers seek better prices. Offering promotions that emphasize the long-term value of higher-priced items can be effective in this environment.
Summarizing: Keep the Back to School Season Sales Focus on:
- Providing sales flexibility: Offer flexible omnichannel sales options.
- Expand Product Categories: Offer a broad range of items beyond traditional school supplies to capture more sales.
- Promote Local and Online Sales: Use targeted ads and promotions to attract local customers and enhance online visibility.
- Enhance Customer Loyalty Campaigns: Implement effective customer retention strategies to build long-term relationships.
A robust, feature-rich POS system will be your best ally in achieving these goals and ensuring a successful sales season. Let’s figure out why.
Preparing Your Retail Business for Back to School Sales
Avoiding both understocking and overstocking during the back to school rush is crucial. Start by analyzing sales data from previous years and researching current trends to understand what students are looking for.
Investing in intelligent inventory management software with data analytics can significantly improve this process. Modern POS systems often include these features, enabling you to track historical sales data and identify trends.
If you already stock popular back to school items, ensure you have ample supply. If your inventory lacks such items, consider diversifying your offerings to attract the crowd.
Optimize Store Layout and Train Your Staff
Make it easy for your customers to find what they’re looking for. Arrange your store layout so that popular items are prominently displayed. At the same time, train your staff to offer personalized service.
Ensure both your staff and your store layout highlight your diverse product range. So place back to school products in prominent locations to catch shoppers’ eyes, while setting up promotions, discounts, and bundles ahead of time. This helps customers make informed decisions, whether they’re choosing more expensive items or budget-friendly options. Informed customers tend to buy more.
Promote your Back to School Offerings and Discounts
No matter the size of your business, promoting your store’s offerings is key to keeping those cash registers ringing. Whether you’re a large retailer or a small local shop, implementing percentage-off sales, free gifts, or storewide sales can significantly boost your promotional efforts. Here’s how you can make the most of your back to school promotions:
Utilize a Multi-Channel Approach
Don’t be shy about sharing your amazing deals! Blast your promotions across every channel imaginable – from eye-catching in-store signs to sizzling social media posts. Your website should be a deal-hunter’s paradise too. Remember, every platform is a chance to connect with customers in a whole new way.
For online shops, this season is a golden opportunity to shine. So keep your website updated with back to school promotions. Just like in physical stores, make sure discounts and promotions are prominently featured.
Harness Your POS System’s Marketing Tools
Modern POS systems offer a range of functionalities to enhance your promotional initiatives. Here are some actionable tips:
- Targeted Marketing Campaigns: Your POS can help you uncover valuable customer information. Use this data to create targeted marketing campaigns. Send out personalized emails or texts with exclusive back to school offers.
- Tailored Promotions via a Loyalty Program: Got a loyalty program? Fantastic! Use your POS to track customer purchases and reward them for their love. Discounts, points, or early access to sales are all great ways to keep ’em coming back for more.
- Gift Cards: Gift cards are like little invitations to your store. They’re perfect for birthdays, holidays, or just because, and they encourage recipients to visit your store. A POS system that can easily handle gift card sales is a smart choice.
Explore Local Advertising Opportunities
Local advertising is like a friendly handshake with your community. Let everyone know about your incredible back to school deals! From small initiatives like flyers and Google ads to ambitious strategies for big stores like radio ads and billboards, get creative and let your community know what you’ve got going on.
Improve in-store sales with a robust POS
Creating a positive shopping experience is crucial for driving sales and fostering customer loyalty:
- Speedy Transactions: A modern POS system can scan items in a flash, process payments without a hitch, and get customers on their way in no time.
- Track what people buy: See what college and school products are flying off the shelves and which ones are gathering dust. This helps you order the right stuff and create awesome displays.
- Protect customer data: Safeguard sensitive information with top-notch security.
- Offer multiple payment options: Cater to different customer preferences with options like credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, and even cash.
- Simplify transactions: Make it easy for your staff to process payments accurately and efficiently.
- Dual Facing POS: Want to build even stronger customer relationships? Consider a dual-facing POS. This innovative technology allows customers to see the transaction details right there on the screen. It creates a sense of transparency and trust, while also minimizing errors.
Streamline Omnichannel Sales
Today’s shoppers are all about choice and convenience. And for busy parents, it is a relief to shop how, when, and where they want. That’s where omnichannel sales come in. It’s about giving your customers the best of both worlds: the thrill of the store and the ease of online shopping.
Did you know that 81% of people do online research before buying something? That’s huge! And they’re using websites and social media like crazy to find what they want. So, it’s super important to be where your customers are.
Beyond just being convenient, online shopping needs to be safe. Nobody wants their credit card info stolen, right? That’s why you need to lock down your website with top-notch security such as modern POS Systems that use encryption codes.
Make your online store easy to use. Clear menus, simple checkout, and lots of payment options are key. Plus, let people track their orders so they know exactly when their stuff is arriving.
Provide students and parents with the option to browse online, reserve back to school items for pickup, or return items bought online in-store. Consider even letting people order by phone or social media. Make it easy for them to switch between your digital and physical shops. Show your customers you care by giving them lots of ways to shop.
Ready to Rock Back to School Sales?
Back to school shopping is a goldmine for retailers. With families spending big bucks on supplies, you’ve got a huge opportunity to boost your sales. And the secret to crushing it? A top-notch POS system.
Want to give your sales a serious upgrade? Check out iPos. It’s an all-in-one POS system that can handle even the craziest back-to-school rush. Plus, we’ll get you up and running in no time with our awesome support team.
Don’t miss out on this chance to make your best back-to-school season ever. Book a free consultation now and let’s get started!
