BACK TO SCHOOL

MINI GUIDE 2018

HOW TO CONQUER BACK-TO-SCHOOL 101 & 201 2018 Lesson Plan

With the beginning of school just around the corner, it’s time to start taking notes on how to make the most of this year’s busy buying season. You’re in luck, class is now in session.

GET SCHOOLED IN BACK-TO-SCHOOL MARKETING

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101 WHAT TO EXPECT FROM BACK-TO-SCHOOL

Back-to-school shopping isn’t just at the end of summer, it boosts sales across multiple months of the year. However, retailers can see the biggest sales bumps occurring 3 weeks to one month before school starts.

At least two months before school starts

3-4 weeks before school starts

1-2 weeks before school starts

A7er school starts

The week school starts

WHEN ARE THEY SHOPPING?

An average family with kids in grades K-12 completes only 45% of their shopping by early August.

Only 13% complete all their shopping, and 23% have not started at all. 1

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NRF Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics

• Spending reached a new high of $687 per household in 2017 for families with kids K-12.

Overall retail sales during back-to-school season have increased 4% year-over-year.2

$10.2BClothing

$8.8BElectronics

$5.6BShoes

$4.9BSchool Supplies

HOW MUCH ARE THEY SPENDING?

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Back-to-school and back-to-college shoppers spend roughly $83 billion each year, making it the #2 spending season after the winter holidays.  

$83B WHAT ARE PARENTS

&

STUDENTS BUYING?

When it comes to back-to-college, most

will make their purchases online.

WHERE ARE THEY SHOPPING?

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NRF Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics

NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF PARENTS MAKE BACK-TO-SCHOOL PURCHASES ON MOBILE.

•46% of back-to-school (K-12) shoppers will shop online

◦ 91% of online shoppers will use free shipping

◦ 54% will buy online and pick up in-store

•30% of shoppers use mobile coupon apps as their main source for sales and promotions

•81% of shoppers research their back-to-school purchases online or on mobile before buying3

Whether it’s parents with kids in grades K-12 and college, college students themselves, or teachers, everyone needs to prepare for the coming school year. Here are our recommended target audiences for the season.

201 BACK-TO-SCHOOL CUSTOM AUDIENCE RECOMMENDATIONS

WHO TO TARGET

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Back-to-School Deal Seekers – 6.1M Households Target frequent spenders during this season whose purchase behavior indicates they are always looking for a great deal and ways to save money.

Ultimate Back-to-School Buyer – 14.3M Households Pay special attention to active shoppers who spend two or more times the average on things like electronics, apparel, or office supplies between August 1st and September 15th each year.

CUSTOM AUDIENCE (CONT’D)Back-to-School Parents – 15.9M Households Focus on parents of preschool, grade school, or high school kids who are big spenders on children’s and teen apparel.4 Keep these points in mind when targeting millennial Moms and Dads:

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•50% of millennial parents will research a brand’s values on issues that matter to them

•44% will only end up shopping at brands that reflect their own values5

•73% of millennial parents use Facebook to get recommendations on products or services6

Kids’ School Supply Spenders – 9.2M Households Target frequent buyers of children’s products who are likely to spend more on school and office supplies during the back-to-school season.

Back-to-College High Spenders – 4.2M Households   Target those headed back to college this fall whose purchase behavior indicates they likely will be high spenders on back-to-school supplies, apparel, and home décor.

Note:“A 2017 National Retail Federation survey sites that “65% of back to school shoppers said half or more of their purchases are a direct result of their children’s influence,” up from 57% in 2016.”

CUSTOM AUDIENCE (CONT’D)

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CTVSocial Mobile Web

MobileSocial Web

CTVWeb

Drive site trafficRETARGETING

Increase audience sizePROSPECTING

Increase brand lift & generate awarenessBRANDING

• Connected TV: Branding and awareness push for Back-to-School products and/or brand benefits

Native

CAMPAIGNS:

• Social Prospecting: Video or Collections

• Display Prospecting: Videos or lifestyle images, and feature B2S promotion (if applicable)

• CRM Display Campaigns: Target customers who purchased last year during B2S with similar display ads as a Prospecting campaign

• Collections Retargeting: Back-to-School videos or static images, followed by relevant products

• Display Retargeting: Dynamic product carousel featuring B2S promotion

Audio

201 BACK-TO-SCHOOL FULL-FUNNEL INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN STRATEGY

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SteelHouse retailers who ran Back-to-School campaigns in August increased their conversion rates by an average of 20% compared to general campaigns run in July.

Campaigns with discount codes and product carousels performed best.

BOGO and 25%+ discounts had the highest click-through rates.

STEELHOUSE DATA:

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THANK YOU!Visit us at steelhouse.com

References:1. NRF Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics

2. National Retail Federation, July 2017

3. Deloitte: July 2017

4. Oracle data, 2018

5. SteelHouse Blog, 2018

6. Facebook, 2018

7. Proprietary SteelHouse data, 2018