We all know about Black Friday. Year after year it’s one of the largest retail events. However, did you also know that Back-to-School season continuously is the second largest annual retail event?
In fact, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 2017 is already shaping up to be a record year, expected to reach $84 billion.
Yes. BILLION!
The Myth on Back-to-School Season
Want your share of this $84 billion pie? Well it starts with generating sales, and the key to generating Back-to-School sales is understanding marketplace.
When I was growing up, my mom would take me to the store in August to buy corduroys that I obviously wouldn’t be able to wear until November. However, we would do this year in and year out simply because it was Back-to-School season, and that’s what you did.
These days are over.
Who wants to be buying things for December when it’s still 90 degrees outside?
Not me! You know why? Because today it is all about convenience, and that certainly was not convenient shopping.
It’s 2017, and now Back-to-School is much more seasonal, spread out, and customized.
Doesn’t it seem like every year Back-to-School promotions are starting sooner and sooner? Well it’s intentional, and maybe not for the reason you think. No, they’re not trying to give you and your kids crippling anxiety by making you think about the next school season while it’s still March.
Rather smart retailers realize Back-to-School season is year round, and as a result, you must constantly be aware of which products you are putting your marketing dollars behind.
For example, there is much less of a need to aggressively push that new wind resistant, high school branded Nike hoodie that can withstand below zero temps, when it’s still mid-August!
Instead focus on promoting the goods for that specific season, and launch a strategic promotion around those hoodies (or whatever the product is) at a more appropriate time.
This doesn’t mean the traditional “Back-to-School” season is completely gone. Rather it has just changed especially for the apparel segment. To make the most of this, you really need to understand your customer base, and strategize around it.
Just because school starts in early August out in Arizona, does it mean your shop in New York, where school doesn’t start till after Labor Day, has to launch a gung-ho back-to-school clothing campaign in mid-July?
Not Necessairly!
We don’t all have the massive marketing budgets of the large national retailers. We have to be strategic with what we spend.
Work with your customers to understand the end-user (and more importantly the end-buyer…parents), and be strategic with your campaigns.
Embrace Back-to-School Trends
Kids, teens, college students, and even adults today operate in the moment. Rarely are they thinking weeks in advance, let alone months.
Think about this from your customers perspectives.
Your customer and their customers (the end user) want the product as quickly as possible, and with minimal to zero human interaction. Like it or not, that’s the world we’re living in.
Think of the things you can do today without any human interaction. Order groceries? Yes. Ordering a cab? You bet ya! The other day I was even able to have someone walk my dog through an app on my phone, from my office desk.
It’s immediate, it’s simple, and requires little effort.
That’s the beauty of online shopping, and why you need to embrace it.
Look at what Staples did to make shopping more convenient. Last year they launched a “School List with a Snap” campaign, where a customer could literally snap a pic of their school shopping list, text it to Staples, have it collected, delivered and paid for, all without having to go to the store.
Th proof is in the pudding.
In a recent study by Branding Brands, on consumers shopping for back-to-school products this year:
- 12% say they will buy more than 75% of their back-to-school goods online
- 14.7% will buy 51-75% of their back-to-school goods online
- 21.9% will buy 26-50% of their back-to-school goods online
- 21.9% will buy 11-25% of their back-to-school goods online
- 15.8% will buy less than 10% of their back-to-school goods online
- 13.7% say none of their back-to-school goods online
What is your shop doing to embrace online Back-to-School trends?
InkSoft Online Stores Will Boost Your Sales
Not sure what they are, check them out here!
But take a moment and think about it.
You can literally set up an online store dedicated to each segment of a school, with a website that has the ability to constantly have orders rolling in. How nice would it be to just focus on printing.
Take “Ryan High School” as an example (made up but has a nice ring to it).
If Ryan High football team wants a store? Build it in minutes. Student council, they can have one too. Miss. Lippy’s Biology class? You want one, you got one! Each store operates on the web allowing orders to be placed whenever and wherever. Not even just from the students. Say star QB Billy has a grandpa retired down in Florida. Grandpa can order, pay, and have his branded t-shirt shipped to him immediately from a thousand miles away.
Furthermore, have some of your customers that use T-Shirt sales as a fundraising tool?
We solve that headache easily!
That’s what makes InkSoft so special. It’s a tool that allows you to take your sales to new levels. Online stores are currently averaging ~$1,300 per store in profit!
Setting up one store nearly covers the entire initiation fee!
Now stick with me here for a minute.
You open another 3 more stores for that school, better yet you open another 5 stores each for 10 different schools…Now we’re talking some serious dough!
Back-to-School season is year round, it’s not to late to set up your school stores for this year! A few months from now you will wish you started today.
As always, if you have any questions contact the Success Squad at support@inksoft.com. They’re happy to help you out!
Not yet a customer? We’d love to show you around.
Feedback on my first blog, or ideas on what you’d like to see me write about in the future? Email me at Ryan@InkSoft.com
