2020 BACK TO SCHOOL RETAIL WORLDWIDE
What’s Going On at the Retail Side?
• Cheap prices, price-offs, low prices
• Independent retailers are more creative in merchandising back to school
• Big box retailers are going for bulk/volume
• Back to school is promoted in many categories besides normal school products including fashion, food, electronics, bags, shoes, bikes, furniture, healthcare and sports
• Communication focuses on gender groups of varying ages
• Some retailers show an integrated approach of the back-to-school period throughout the store, matching their online offerings
• Brands play an important role besides the private label retail brand
• Sustainability is used to grab the shopper’s attention (i.e., no packaging, Bic’s plant-based plastic for pens).
• Shopper specific: In France, parents are conformist and 82% say they do not change their shopping habits. But 54% plan to make their purchases “contactless” in click & collect, drive or delivery. Example: The LAMARTINE bookstore offers a service for preparing the list of school supplies to be sent by email and picked up in store or delivered by courier
• Order online, pick-up curbside growing in popularity
• Slightly higher costs for 2021 school supplies: An increase in the price of raw materials and delivery has impacted the back-to-school sector, but it was above all the manufacturers in the sector who were impacted and did not pass this increase on to the consumer (France)
