A Suzy Research Whitepaper How to Back-to-SchoolRule Lessons for Brands in Four Key Industries August 2022
Table of Contents Introduction Back-To-School, But Not Yet Normal General Attitudes How Consumers are Getting Ready For a New Year ConsumerTechRetail Packaged Goods Food & Beverage Diving Even Deeper Making the Most of Suzy’s Platform Conclusion Learning Isn’t Just For Kids 43 8567 1011
Back-to-school season is often seen as the second-biggest season for retailers behind the winter holidays, and can be an early indicator for just how much (or how little) spend there will be during the holiday season.
Parents still plan to prioritize spending on their children's’ education. According to Deloitte’s 2022 Back to School Survey, even though more than half (57%) of parents have a negative economic outlook, they still plan to spend an average of $661 this season to replenish their children's apparel and school supplies—up 8% from last year.
The National Retail Federation found that 38% of consumers said they’re cutting back on other spending areas to cover items for the upcoming school year. Similarly, 48% of parents said they plan to cut back in other areas to offset inflation in our own survey. Where will parents cut back, and what will they prioritize? How are parents planning for another uncertain school year? And what can brands do to help parents feel more at ease? These are just some of the questions Suzy set out to answer. In early August, we ran a series of surveys asking more than 1,000 parents for their thoughts on back-to-school shopping and the upcoming school year. In this whitepaper, we uncovered parents’ biggest concerns for the school year—purchasing school supplies amid rising inflation, the physical and mental health of their children, and how to handle hybrid learning. We also did a dive deep into four key industries—retail, tech, consumer packaged goods, and food & beverage—to learn how parents think about purchases in each one. At the end of each section, we’ve put together key takeaways brands can use to help ease concerns and get families ready for the year.
Back-To-School,
Introduction: But Not Yet Normal
As August comes to a close and back-to-school season is right around the corner, many parents are dealing with old and new concerns about their children’s health and education. For many parents, these factors are amplified by the impending recession. According to a survey conducted by Suzy in early August 2022, 69% of parents said they were concerned about inflation's impact on the cost of school this year. Inflation is affecting retailers, too.
Parents are willing to adjust their finances to meet school costs.
According to our survey, 64% said they need to adjust their spending a little bit to account for inflation, with a quarter (25%) saying they will need to adjust “a lot.”
Of those, 49% said they plan to shop less expensive brands to decrease spending. 48% said they would cut back in other areas.
21% of parents surveyed plan to use buy now, pay later solutions to manage the cost of school shopping.
64% 21%
The majority of parents who are feeling concerned about the upcoming school year cited school safety (52%), followed by COVID safety (46%) and the increased cost of school supplies (29%). For brands and retailers, it’s important to understand these concerns to determine how parents are shopping for the year ahead. Here are some of the biggest trends Suzy uncovered:
General Attitudes How Consumers are Getting Ready for a New School Year
With the arrival of the new school year, kids aren’t the only ones with the jitters. Parents are generally feeling happy (42%) and excited (38%) to send their kids back to school, but many also said they felt anxious (28%) and nervous (24%), according to our August 2022 survey.
49%
Though inflation has finally begun to ease, this last year has been tough on consumers’ wallets, and goods are still expected to be more expensive than they were in the past.
22% increase in cost is incurred by parents buying sustainable products
To accommodate last-minute shoppers, brands need to manage inventory quantities and use urgency and convenience in their messaging Quality and price are the main factors when school shopping. We asked parents what the most important factors were during back-to-school shopping. Quality and price were tied, with 51% of respondents saying each was important. Meeting school requirements was next—about one third (34%) cited them.
TODELOITTE’SSUSTAINABILITYABOUTIN2022BACKSCHOOLSURVEY?
Procrastination is the name of the game. Many families procrastinate school shopping.
29% of parents had sustainability at the top of their minds
According to Deloitte, more than a third of shoppers have purchased items or services to improve a child’s mental health in the last year, including extracurricular activities. Parents who are concerned about their child’s mental wellness also spend 8% more than the average.
Kids need supplies for school and new clothes as they grow. But with shoppers more concerned than ever about the environmental impact of their choices, parents are starting to consider the sustainability of their back-to-school purchases.
As of August 2nd, less than a quarter (23%) of parents said they were done with their back-to-school shopping, while 26% said they hadn’t started yet.
45% of parents told Suzy that mental health was top-of-mind when thinking about the upcoming school year. Being prepared for school doesn’t always mean showing up with pencils and a backpack—it also means being mentally ready to learn.
New needs and concerns
PARENTS
WHAT DID HAVE TO SAY
General Attitudes How Consumers are Getting Ready for a New School Year
GO-TO STORES FOR
Focus on how your brand is making smaller purchases like notebooks and pencils easier for parents to access. Play up the outdoors. Say goodbye to the loungewear sales and hello to sneakers. But don’t worry about following trends too much—38% of parents don’t.
Retail Go back to basics. That means inviting parents to return to brick-and-mortar shopping, as well as focusing on traditional school supplies instead of supplies for virtual schooling. Sweat the small stuff.
According to Trendalytics’ 2022 Back to School forecast, kids’ loungewear represented the biggest opportunity for brands last year—but this year, the focus will shift to kids’ activewear.
That’s consistent with the findings from our survey: two thirds of parents (67%) said their kids will need new shoes this year, followed by activewear (50%) and outsidewear (46%). BACK-TO-SCHOOL
Where parents shop is influenced by the world’s economic state, and what they’re shopping for currently is different now that most kids are back in the classroom instead of behind a screen.
69% of parents said they prefer to do their back-to-school shopping in-person.
Parents plan to brick-and-mortar.shop
According to Deloitte’s 2022 Back to School Survey, the share of in-store back-to-school shopping will increase from 43% in 2021 to 49% in 2022. The share of online shopping will only decrease slightly, from 39% to 35%.
Electronics are out and traditional purchases are in. Only 8% of parents said they are most likely to spend on electronics and hardware while 34% of parents said they are most likely to spend on school supplies and 29% said the same about buying clothes and accessories. The majority of parents (32%) say they are skipping electronics this year due to inflation
WHAT CAN RETAIL BRANDS DO?
Industry Deep Dive
Though parents are willing to make sacrifices in other parts of their lives to pay for school supplies, they may hold off on making large purchases like electronics until the economy improves.
“Go play outside!”
WALMART83% AMAZON56% TARGET54%
Industry Deep Dive
Think long term. Parents may be cutting back on tech purchases this year, but with virtual schooling inevitably sticking around, new tech will be needed in the future. Focus on accessories. Schools tend to provide big-ticket items like laptops, but many kids will still need ancillary items such as headphones, external keyboards, and computer mice. Take the risk—when it come to the kids. With their impressionable minds, kids and new tech go together like peanut butter and jelly. That’s perhaps why parents are more willing to take a chance on emerging tech for their kids’ schooling. However, parents are a bit more hesitant to use new tech in their own lives.
Only 30% of parents said that their children don’t need any personal technology for school this year, while 43% said their child will need a computer or tablet. That number jumped to 75% for parents whose children will be participating in some amount of virtual learning this year.
Tech As adults return to the office and kids return to their schools, NPD Group expects that consumer electronics sales will continue decreasing until (at least) 2024. But that doesn’t mean there’s no opportunities for tech brands. Virtual learning is here to stay. …But that doesn’t mean spending will reflect this.
Additionally, 42% of respondents said they plan to adjust their internet package to account for virtual schooling. Just because kids are back in-person doesn’t mean technology won’t continue to play a large role in the classroom. Many school districts still plan to opt for virtual classes on likeoccasion,snowdays.
53% NOLEARNINGVIRTUAL 47% SOMELEARNINGVIRTUAL
PARENTS’ PLAN FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR
According to Deloitte’s 2022 Back to School Survey, 81% say their children's school provides devices and other technology to students. According to our survey, the majority of parents (64%) plan to spend the same amount on technology as they did last year, with 20% spending less—and only 16% spending more.
WHAT CAN TECH BRANDS DO?
Children’s tech needs to reflect this.
. HOW PARENTS WILL PRIORITIZE HEALTH 22% REMINDERSHYDRATION 20% SLEEP AIDS & BOOSTERSIMMUNE 20% NATURALENERGYDRINKS 34% ON-THE-GOMEALS 59% HEALTHYSNACKS
Consumer Packaged Goods
Sanitization is still important.
Almost half (47%) of parents plan to add hand wipes, sanitizer, or cleaning products to their child’s backpack.
Food is a big part of health, too, and parents also wanted to incorporate healthy snacks (59%) and on-the-go meals (34%).
Industry Deep Dive
About a fifth plan to add hydration reminders (22%), natural energy drinks (20%), or sleep aids and immune boosters (20%) to their kid’s routine.
CPG brands have a natural place in kids’ morning routines: from brushing their teeth to packing a lunch, CPG brands rule their routines. But the return to in-person classrooms has altered what parents are looking for when they shop for back-to-school goods. However…
Holistic physical & mental health.
Parents are buying in bulk. Stocking up right before classes start can mitigate the risk of running out of supplies midway through the year. 50% of parents said they stock up on pens, pencils, and cleaning supplies for the entire school year. 48% of parents plan to restock their kids' deodorant, toothpaste, lotions, makeup, and wipes at the same time.
According to Trendalytics, parents are searching for small air purifiers 41% more than last year for a safe in-person environment.
WHAT CAN CPG BRANDS DO?
Ease parents’ health stresses. Parents are worried, and conflicting messaging can make that even worse. Clearly lay out the benefits of your products to alleviate parents’ concerns. Take a holistic approach. It’s not just about treating sniffles and coughs anymore—sleep and healthy food are well known contributors to wellness.
Parents are also looking for ways to keep their kids’ mental health up during the parents buy in bulk at the beginning —so get your products out in front of parents early, and provide incentives, like discounts, for bulk buys
213 SCHOOLOFORIGIN IDEASLUNCH
What parents actually buy…
Promote easy options for the resident chef. Prep work can be tough—especially every day. For back-to-school season, snacks and lunches that don’t take a ton of time can be a godsend for stressed-out parents. Ride the sustainability wave. Selling individually-wrapped items is one way to make lunch prep easier for parents. With sustainability concerns on the rise, using compostable or recyclable packaging can go a long way to set your brand apart from competitors. Plus, parents that shop sustainably tend to spend more on average.
FRIENDS48%+FAMILY INSTAGRAM40% TIKTOK31%
WHAT CAN F&B BRANDS DO?
Industry Deep Dive Food & Beverage
Nearly half (49%) of parents say they buy food in bulk. Collect recipe and prep inspiration.
While most parents get ideas for healthy lunches from family and friends (48%) many also get inspiration from social media like Instagram (40%) and TikTok (31%). Include healthier options. 59% of parents said they plan to add more healthy snacks in their child’s back-to-school routine.
After school, parents are a bit more relaxed on the health front. Their top snacks were fruits and nuts (66%), followed by chips, pretzels, and popcorn (64%), and cookies and candy (60%).
Back-to-school means a return to school lunches—and nearly three in five parents are stressed about packing their kids’ lunches again, according to a study by OnePoll and HelloFresh. With the universal free meal program coming to an end, parents who got used to school-provided lunches may find themselves needing to pack lunches once again. How to cut school lunch stress. Get the shopping out of the way early.
The most popular lunches and snacks are sandwiches (86%), crackers and cookies (81%), and fruits and vegetables (80%), according to our Thatsurvey.tracks with OnePoll and HelloFresh’s research, which found that 83% of parents try to always include fruits and vegetables for lunch
The Suzy research cloud uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative research with a proprietary, high-quality audience. You can customize the exact questions your brand needs answered all in one integrated system. Need data quickly? Our live surveys and monadic testing can turn around results in less than 48 hours. Need one-on-one insights? Suzy Live lets you speak to consumers to conduct in-depth interviews or focus groups. Need to test with real users? Suzy Home sends your product to a consumer so they can give you the best possible feedback.
Diving Even Deeper Making The Most of Suzy’s Platform
Here are just a few examples of other questions you can ask with Suzy: What are parents’ long-term plans for technology purchases? When do parents plan to purchase phones for their kids? If schools provide laptops, are parents still willing to buy their child a personal computer? How much more are parents willing to spend on healthy snack options? What’s more important for parents when making school lunches—ease of preparation or healthiness?
Is andconcernbecomingsustainabilityabiggerforparentskids?
What insights can Suzy help your brand with?
Given how environmentallyconscious the younger generation is, how much of sustainable purchasing decisions are being driven by parents, and how much is actually being driven by kids themselves? Is sustainability a value parents are trying to instill in their children? Or vice versa?
Back-to-school season may be an annual constant, but how parents shop and what they’re shopping for is always changing. With Suzy’s custom research offerings, we can help your brand gather the insights you need to stay on top of the market’s demands.
Back-to-school means back to learning—and it’s clear that kids aren’t the only ones that have some homework to do. For brands still reeling from the last few years of remote schooling, it’s imperative to learn what back-to-school (and the accompanying shopping season) will look like in the future.
Conclusion Learning
In order to keep on top of the conversation, brands need to learn how to address these conflicting concerns about health, safety, virtual learning, and more—while also providing the best value to kids and parents, who are their customers. That’s why it’s more important than ever to have quality, data-driven insights guiding your brand.
Some things have gone right back to normal: kids are buying outdoor clothes again after a few years of loungewear, and they’re setting down the technology in favor of good old fashioned pencils, erasers, and notebooks. But others are massively Parentsdifferent.are re-prioritizing purchases amid runaway inflation, districts are looking for ways to integrate virtual learning into the school year, and many families have a renewed zeal for health and wellness in the wake of COVID.
Want to learn more about Suzy? Reach out at suzy@suzy.com Isn’t Just For Kids
