An ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group® and M/A/R/C Research shows that retailers will continue to see the number of back-to-school shoppers in their stores drop.
Last year, the data showed 36 percent of shoppers would not be shopping back-to-school and this year the study is showing a 7 percent increase in those not shopping for back-to-school. With fewer shoppers to compete for, retailers and brands will be challenged to focus that much harder on differentiating themselves and outperforming the competition to win over existing back-to-school shoppers.
The biggest decrease in shoppers from 2014 comes from African-American and Hispanic Shoppers with 36 percent of African-American and 26 percent of Hispanic shoppers reporting they will not be shopping for back-to-school this year. The overall decrease in back-to-school shoppers might also be linked to the 31 percent of shoppers surveyed who indicated they did not have any children in their household.
"The demand for higher-quality back-to-school goods at lower prices is prevalent. Shoppers will strategize, plan out, and hunt down these deals over the months that lead up to the start of school or even wait until after the school year starts to find the best products at the lowest prices," said Craig Elston EVP, Insight & Strategy at The Integer Group. "This tactic could be contributing to the way the back-to-school shopping occasion is shrinking. Retailers should continue to find new ways to offer shoppers more perceived bang for their buck."
Additional findings from the back-to-school issue of The Checkout include:
- 48 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds reported they plan to shop online, compared to 33 percent of others
- 47 percent of millennials shop at the last minute
- 62 percent of shoppers start planning at least one month in advance
- 64 percent of those shopping report they plan on shopping at mass retailers like Walmart and Target
Source: The Integer Group
