Preparing for Back-to-School Retail Season

Ironed ties, crisp collars, new books, fresh looks, and morning rush after a summer-long vacation – the back-to-school season is an enigma not just for the parent-child universe but also for retailers. It is one of the busiest and most lucrative times for retailers. With families gearing up for a new academic year, demand for school supplies, electronics, apparel, and dorm essentials surges. This means that somewhere some store staff is clawing their way out of a messy pile of school uniforms and somewhere else, a warehouse manager is trying to find a batch of missing notebooks. People spend billions, and those billions don’t come without the challenges of supply chain disruptions. Let’s explore the different aspects of the back-to-school sale season and how retailers need to start prepping for it!

Challenges Faced by Retailers

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), back-to-school spending is expected to reach $36.9 Billion globally even in the face of inflation, making it a critical time for businesses to optimize their operations, inventory, and marketing strategies. Let’s look at where this expenditure is going: 

Around $874.68 is spent on clothing, shoes, school supplies and electronics. In the order of preference, here’s what it looks like: 

• Electronics at an avg. of $309.35 ($13.7 billion total)
• Clothing and accessories at $253.29 ($11.2 billion total) 
• School supplies at $141.62 ($6.3 billion total) 
• Shoes at $170.43 ($7.6 billion total)

Where the highest chunk goes to electronics while clothing and school supplies still see a strong dominance in the market. These purchases happen mostly online, with the percentage contributing to online shopping being 57%. The rest is divided between department stores, discount stores, clothing destinations, and electronics spaces. For this big market, what are the challenges retailers could be facing? I believe you can guess some of them, let’s take a close look:

1. Demand Forecasting and Stock Management

Back-to-school shopping patterns can be unpredictable, with shifting trends and last-minute purchases. With brands being more vigilant with hyperlocal, location-specific targeted ads change consumer preferences of not just goods but stores too! Retailers must strike a balance between marketing well, and stocking enough inventory to meet demand in the marketed areas while avoiding excess stock that leads to markdowns.

• Key issues: Uncertain demand, trend-driven purchases, and rapid inventory turnover.
• Solution: Use predictive analytics and real-time sales data to optimize stock levels. Leveraging the best OMS systems (Order Management Systems) can help retailers allocate inventory efficiently across sales channels.

2. Supply Chain Disruptions

Along with an increased demand for a larger workforce, logistics bottlenecks, and supplier delays can create challenges in meeting seasonal demand. This is also impacted by natural disasters (like the LA fires where a whole city has had to move its base). Even among these challenges, being late to the party is not welcome by any parent as they prep to send their children to school – one of the top necessities that doesn’t take a backseat. For supply chain managers and warehouse managers, this means that late shipments and unexpected stock shortages can drastically impact sales and drop customer satisfaction to new lows.

• Key issues: Shipping delays, warehouse congestion, and last-minute supplier constraints.
• Solution: Retailers should diversify suppliers, maintain safety stock for high-demand items, and use AI-driven forecasting tools to anticipate supply chain disruptions.

3. E-commerce vs. In-Store Sales Management

Generation Alpha’s shopping habits are vastly different and their preferences are impacting how the retail world prepares for sales this year. Kids and their parents prefer omnichannel shopping, and getting their shopping lists ticked off in the quickest and most efficient way possible. Retailers must ensure that their world of online and offline channels solves this need for quick and easy shopping that doesn’t add another chore to the parents’ list. Consumers expect real-time inventory visibility and convenient fulfillment options like BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store) and same-day delivery which aren’t super hard to fulfill these days.

• Key issues: Stock discrepancies between channels, order fulfillment delays, and lack of real-time visibility.
• Solution: A robust best OMS system enables retailers to centralize order management, ensuring stock synchronization across all sales channels. You can check out Increff’s product which offers omnichannel fulfillment to manage large-scale businesses. 

Solutions and Best Practices

1. Merchandising & In-Store Experience

A strong in-store strategy can make the difference between buying and shopping. Consumers are looking for essential items but it’s also their time to browse through all things summer. It’s their time to get back to work too, and change their winter styles. There’s a lot to notice if the consumers are pointed in the right direction. That’s where your store experience comes in – to enhance the shopping experience and drive more sales.

• Strategic Product Placement: Arrange high-demand items like notebooks, backpacks, and electronics near store entrances and checkout counters for impulse buys, along with a mix of parent-friendly shopping items that help ease the everyday school prep.
• Thematic Displays: Create dedicated back-to-school sections with clear signage and easy navigation to streamline shopping.
• Tech-Enabled Shopping: Introduce self-checkout kiosks and mobile payment options to reduce wait times and improve convenience (Store Management System).

2. Marketing & Promotional Strategies

Customers expect prices to rise around the back-to-school season season. As much as 80% of the shoppers think the prices will be higher. This is a great time to push marketing campaigns that bring visibility to discounted pricing, bundle offers, and more to attract the flock to your brand. Social media is also not a novelty but a great platform to connect with the Gen-Alpha. To capture customer attention, brands must deploy targeted and data-driven marketing campaigns.

• Early Promotions: Launch back-to-school sales early on to capture early shoppers and offer limited-time discounts.
• Omnichannel Campaigns: Utilize email, SMS, and social media ads to promote exclusive deals and loyalty program benefits.
• Influencer Partnerships: Collaborate with parent bloggers and student influencers to highlight back-to-school product recommendations.

3. Operational and Staffing Considerations

Efficient operations and workforce management can enable you to handle the surge in demand. If not done properly, it can also break your entire supply chain and send it into a world of chaos.

• Flexible Staffing: Increase workforce during peak shopping periods, redistribute it based on consumer demand in areas, and train employees to assist with high-traffic areas.
• Inventory Optimization: Leverage the best OMS systems to track stock levels in real time and automate replenishment processes.
• Seamless Checkout Experience: Enable mobile POS systems and self-checkout lanes to expedite transactions and reduce queues.

Case Studies: Brands That Nailed Back-to-School Season

1. Walmart: Omnichannel Dominance

Walmart strategically leverages its omnichannel capabilities to cater to back-to-school shoppers. The retailer integrates online and offline experiences through BOPIS, curbside pickup, and real-time stock visibility, ensuring a smooth shopping experience for busy parents and students (NRF).

2. Target: Personalization and Digital Innovation

Target uses AI-driven personalization in its digital marketing campaigns, showcasing tailored product recommendations based on past purchases and browsing behavior. Its School List Assist tool allows parents to find school supply lists for their children’s schools and instantly add items to their cart (Shopify).

3. Staples: Bundling and Promotions

Staples maximizes value-driven shopping by offering back-to-school bundles, where customers can purchase pre-packed school supply kits at discounted rates. This strategy not only simplifies shopping but also increases average order value (Retail Dive).

Back to Work – A roundup of our discussion

The back-to-school season is a significant opportunity for retailers, but grabbing onto it and getting the best out of it requires careful planning and execution. 

• You need to understand the challenges before they appear and prep for higher demand, more need for a trained workforce, possible supply chain disruptions, and the need for omnichannel management in times of multifaceted shopping trends.
• You need to leverage instinctive and evolutionary marketing techniques including social content to attract consumers, you need to redefine in-store experiences and empower your staff to handle it all with exceptional ease. 
• All of this is not possible without the best OMS system and inventory management platform that can help you automate a lot of the tasks, plan much ahead, and give you the flexibility to change those plans without the scope of any errors. 

By leveraging the best OMS systems, optimizing merchandising strategies, and implementing data-driven marketing campaigns, your business can streamline operations and maximize sales.

To stay ahead of the competition, you must focus on inventory accuracy, omnichannel integration, and customer convenience. Want to know more about managing it all without any complications? Talk to our experts!