Back-to-School Shoppers Raid Stores Early, but Not Often

Fueled by the Amazon Prime Day frenzy, back-to-school consumers are restocking for the fall semester earlier and earlier. And retailers are taking note — ramping up their sales and marketing efforts in an attempt to capitalize on the momentum of the shopping bonanza. According to RetailMeNot’s latest report, “The Ultimate 2018 Back-to-School Trends and Insights Guide,” retailers are offering more deals — earlier — than last year.

And while Amazon provides relatively frictionless, transaction-based shopping journeys, retailers are fighting against the Goliath-like platform with bevies of in-store experiences to ramp up foot traffic. According to the report, 96 percent of all parents will visit a brick-and-mortar store at least once while b-t-s shopping — 58 percent said they’ll plan to complete all of their purchases in a physical retail location.