Back-to-school season is upon us. The school has started, the universities are opening, and people are opening their wallets to foot the bill for all the back-to-school essentials.
The Deloitte back-to-school survey expects this year’s shopping expenses to skyrocket due to inflation, driving up spending up to 8%, with the market size “estimated to be $34.4B, up 5.8% YoY.”
However, back-to-school shopping doesn’t just mean school supplies. It’s also clothing, shoes, electronics, and even furniture. This means considerable shopping expenses for households. These can be further racked up as more parents choose home-schooling in the times of Coronavirus, meaning they may require new electronics, such as laptops.
What does it mean for businesses?
For retailers, it’s a great opportunity, and the season is actually considered one of the busiest moments of the year. Special offers, targeted ads, and more personalized offers can all do a lot of good for your customers—parents of pre-K children will need completely different supplies than college kids.
What to do when your target customers cannot do back-to-school shopping in your business, though?
Straight-to-the-point marketing strategies.
BTS shopping—we’ve all been here, and we get it; it’s hard, it’s expensive, and it’s frustrating. BTS season means parents have less time for reading mailing materials, such as newsletters. If you’ve got an announcement—make it. If there’s a promo code, add it at the top of your newsletter to attract the reader’s attention.
Highlight what makes your service perfect for BTS season.
Can your product or service alleviate parents’ stress, increase their comfort, or save their time? Make sure to promote it this way. In the busiest time of the year, parents are looking for solutions to make this time more manageable.
But what if people don’t have the funds for your services?
Special offers.
Customers in the throes of BTS shopping are going to be price-conscious. If you have a lot of smaller B2B clients, let them know that you’re aware of their plights and understand it and give them a promo code. According to National Retail Federation, more people than ever are doing comparative shopping and are looking for sales when making purchases in the BTS season.
Flash deals.
Short-timed sales can also attract customers.
Deferred payments.
The same applies here. Your customers may be more likely to splurge on something when they don’t have to foot the bill while paying for their kids’ school supplies.
Back-to-school season is tiring when parents need to manage their children’s new school schedule, supply shopping, and send off their kids to college. There’s a lot of pressure and stress involved; it’s crucial to make sure your customers feel understood.
Not sure how to get started, we are happy to help. Contact us.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash