Back to Shopping

Shoppers indicate they plan to spend more on school supplies this year.

Image: bizjournals

One bright spot of the slow economy is that the back-to-school shopping season is showing signs of recovery. A new survey by Deloitte finds that parents are planning to boost spending on their kids’ school supplies due to budget cuts that mean parents have to pay more for items and the need to buy more expensive equipment such as computers.

The average cost to send a child into the classroom with school-recommended supplies this fall is approximately $474 for elementary school, $545 for middle school and $1,000 for high school students, according to the fifth-annual Huntington Backpack Index issued by Huntington Bank, reports the Dayton Business Journal.

Retailers can leverage those needs but they have to leverage an increasingly prominent marketing tool: social media.

“Retailers may be encouraged that fewer consumers are planning to pare back this year, although they may find that shoppers continue to be deliberate in their purchases. Retailers should be laser-focused on giving shoppers a reason to put back-to-school dollars into their stores,” says Alison Paul, vice chairman and Deloitte’s retail sector leader in the United States.

Nearly 29 percent of those surveyed indicate they will use social networking platforms primarily to learn about promotions, and 29 percent plan to use their smartphones to do comparison shopping in real time.

“Consumers are increasingly on the phone, online and on-the-go,” said Paul. “Retailers’ ability to influence purchase decisions beyond in-store interactions is growing significantly. Companies that can directly engage the consumer through mobile applications, text alerts and video content may win an increased share of shoppers’ back-to-school budgets.”

But stores shouldn't just take to their social networking sites to post coupons. While announcements of sales and special values are important, it's also just as important to provide consumers with helpful insights on how to make their school budgets go farther, tips from other parents, and other useful tools that keep them connected to the core brand and a company's values.

Back-to-school is a great time to reach out to shoppers who may have been reluctant to venture to stores but now have to get supplies. Excelling in customer service and online interactions can go a long way towards giving them a reason to come back.