Marketing, Motherhood, and Mayhem — Trends, observations and strategies for Marketing and for Life

Back to School Consumer Trends

August 17th, 2011 by Deb McLean
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Though many kids have only had a few weeks to enjoy the summer sun, parents are already checking retailers’ weekly advertisements, websites and social media to find the best deals.

It’s back-to-school time, and the National Retail Federation’s latest Back-to-School and College surveys, conducted by BIGresearch, feature an in-depth look at current consumer trends. Here are a few insights living within the numbers:

#1: This year’s theme for parents: “Spend where you need to, save where you can.” Though the economy is still impacting shoppers (see Trend #3), parents are willing to spend on things their kids actually need. According to the survey, fewer people will be spending in specific categories, but those who are buying in individual categories are spending more than a year ago.

Sound confusing? It’s not. What this means is that parents are actually taking inventory of last year’s items — asking kids to get out the backpacks to see if their pencils are still sharp, try on those “old” jeans, and check if the tennis shoes still fit. If there are items children need, parents are certainly receptive to spending. But if last year’s clothes still fit or the school supplies haven’t totally run out, parents might be holding off on purchases until later this fall or for Christmas.

The moral of the story, kids: It’s not going to be as easy to talk mom or dad into things this year — unless last year’s backpack has a broken strap, you’ll be bringing it to school this year, too.

#2: It’s not about the best price. It’s about the best deal. In 2009, it was all about the Benjamins. This year, we continue to see a trend that emerged during last year’s back-to-school season: Value matters more than price.

Instead of looking for the lowest common denominator, parents may be swayed to purchase a laptop if it comes with a free one-year warranty or buy the lunchbox that comes with a matching thermos. Today’s back-to-school shopper is including factors like quality and service when deciding where to shop.

#3: The economy is still impacting spending. We’re all well aware that slumping home values and high unemployment have put a damper on consumer sentiment in recent years, so it’s not surprising that families heading out to buy school items are looking to cut costs where they can.

With the extra burden of tuition, college students and their parents are slightly more likely to change their spending plans this year because of the economy and will compensate by buying more store brand and generic products (38%) and doing more comparative shopping online (31%).

Families with students in K-12th grades will curtail expenses by spending less overall (44%) and shopping for sales more often (50%).

#4: In case you missed the memo, department stores are back. When my mom used to take me shopping for school clothes, we went straight to her favorite department store. These days, when moms and dads head out for their school shopping trip, they head straight to their child’s favorite department stores. Having done their own homework in recent years, department stores know what their shoppers want and are among the primary shopping destinations for pre-teens, teenagers and college students.

The survey found 47.6% of college shoppers and 57.0% of K-12 shoppers will head to department stores — the highest percentage for both groups in NRF’s eight-year survey history.

Thanks to smart merchandising, creative social media campaigns and a new concept of “private label loyalty” among teen and college-aged shoppers, department stores have an added advantage when it comes to back-to-school shopping. Labels like LC by Lauren Conrad and Madonna’s Material Girl are among the labels driving kids to department stores these days.

#5: Electronics. They’re not just for classrooms anymore. There was a time when scientific calculators were the only high-tech gadgets on a parent’s school shopping list. These days, parents are splurging on everything from mp3 players and smartphones to tablets and laptops for their school-aged children. But this year, the number of people who are planning to buy electronics decreased in both surveys, bucking a trend of steady growth over the last few years.

How? Why? No need to worry. Electronics aren’t losing popularity — just look at the crowd of people hovering around the tablet devices and laptops at any large retailer. The decline in electronics spending for back to school can be explained in several ways. For starters, today’s students are incredibly tech-savvy. This year’s sixth graders were born in 2000; there’s no piece of technology today’s students don’t know about, haven’t used or don’t already own.

Also, many parents and college students with their own money to spend don’t necessarily view these purchases as “seasonal” anymore — they are simply buying them when they can or when they want it, all year long. And finally, I would be surprised if many shoppers are waiting for the release of newer models (iPhone 5, anyone?) or until holiday gift-giving rolls around.

#6: This year, it all comes down to crunch time. One of the trends NRF’s Ellen Davis wrote about last year was that “the early bird gets the deal.” Though we’re definitely seeing our share of shoppers who want to start early, many back-to-school shoppers this year are waiting until the last minute. Nearly one-third (31.2%) of parents of K-12th grade students will shop one to two weeks before school starts, up from 24.8% last year.

For retailers, it will be important to move merchandise around in the supply chain, when possible, to take advantage of sales peaks as school bells start ringing in different areas of the country.

#7: Everyone’s a winner. This year’s back-to-school season has something for everyone. Discounters, who have long touted low prices and one-stop-shopping convenience, will continue to be the most popular shopping destination. Department stores, as mentioned earlier, will see more shoppers than anytime in our eight-year survey history.

But a decent chunk of shoppers will also be visiting electronics stores, clothing stores and drugstores. The Internet also continues to be a force to be reckoned with, as people who shop in multiple channels will spend 40% more than those who only shop in stores — another reason why retailers should be paying close attention to their websites and mobile apps when thinking about ways to grow their business.

#8: Think beyond denim and crayons. Though you might think first of jeans, tennis shoes and scissors, there’s plenty of opportunity in the back-to-school market for a variety of different retailers. Case in point? Before heading to campus, college students will spend a collective $5.4 billion on food — which boils down to a not-too-shabby $94.60 a student. (That’s a lot of granola bars.) They’re also plunking down $3.7 billion on personal care items like toothpaste, Tylenol and body wash.

Prepaid cards are also popular among many in this crowd, as parents plan to spend $3.4 billion on gift cards or prepaid cards they can reload when their kids are away from home and need to head to the stores. A variety of retailers can capitalize on this trend, including grocery stores, warehouse clubs and drugstores.

Who takes the cake as the company thinking outside the box the most for back to school this year? It could be Tuffy Auto Service Centers, who is offering free back-to-school maintenance inspections. Every parent wants to make sure their kids’ cars are running smoothly before they head out by themselves to college, further proof that there really is a part every retailer can play when it comes to the back-to-school season.

#9: As they prepare for the “real world,” college seniors pull back. When you look at how the state of the economy has impacted college seniors, the numbers are staggering. Four in 10 say they will buy more store brand and generic products this year, up from 28.6% last year. When it comes to school items, 38.5% will make do with last year’s items, up from 30.6% last year.

And who says 21-year-olds aren’t frugal? This year, 44.5% say they will shop for sales more often, up from 35.8% last year. More will shop online as a way to save money (25.1% vs. 18.7% in 2010) and will share or borrow textbooks instead of buying them (21.3% vs. 15.8% in 2010).

Whether these students are pulling back because they didn’t make as much from a summer job or whether they’re trying to save up for their foray into the real world remains unclear. What we do know is that the oldest in the college crowd are feeling the pinch.

#10: Coming soon to a phone near you — back-to-school and college shopping. In the next few weeks, NRF will be releasing brand-new data that evaluates how people will use their smartphones and tablets for back-to-school shopping this year. Let’s just say there are a lot of people who may buy their school or college needs without ever leaving their house — and those who plan to venture to the stores will be bringing their Droids and iPhones with them.

(Source: Kathy Grannis, National Retail Federation, 07/29/11)

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Back to School already?

August 2nd, 2011 by Deb McLean
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Seems like Summer just started, but did some Back to School Shopping last weekend. I also do my Christmas shopping early and I do my back to school shopping early…or so I thought.

Many retailers and advertisers moved up the start of their sales and marketing campaigns devoted to children’s clothing, stationery, computers and other back-to-school merchandise. In at least one instance, ads that promoted buying such items on layaway appeared in mid-June — when schools in several parts of the country were still in session.

The front-running of the back-to-school shopping season is not unlike how Madison Avenue has for years been advancing the start of the Christmas shopping season. Indeed, even as some retailers begin their back-to-school sales early, they are also sponsoring “Christmas in July” sales.

In both instances, the reason for getting an early start is the same: with an uncertain economy, the goal is to get consumer dollars while they can, even if it may tick off some tradition-minded shoppers.

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Above the Fold…hasn’t changed with new technology

July 29th, 2011 by Deb McLean
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I bought media back in the 80′s. It was drilled into me that when purchasing newspaper, there were clear advantages to being “above the fold”. The same apparently holds true today with our new technology.

According to new research released this week by Casale Media, above-the-fold ad placements displayed within the first screen of a user’s browser window were found to be the most effective. In fact, they are almost seven times more effective at generating a click-through than ads delivered below the fold.

Based on analysis of nearly 2 billion ad impressions in the first quarter of the year, Casale also found that users were three to four time more likely to act on an ad if it was the first or second one they saw during their session. From there, ad effectiveness plummeted as the user progressed through their online viewing.

Casale also noted that repetition does work — to an extent. For example, ads shown five times or more to a user were 12 to 14 times more effective than ads shown less than five times. However, marketers needed to apply frequency capping to prevent over-saturation.

“Relying on singular indicators, such as reach or hyper-targeting, does not tell you the full story,” Joe Casale, CEO of Casale Media, said of common ad placement practices. “Vigilance on the part of marketing managers and accountability from their advertising partners are vital to executing a successful campaign.”

Furthermore, Casale’s findings indicated that advertisers — and particularly those focused on brand penetration with consumers — should take into account a number of factors when considering the environments in which their ads will be running.

Campaigns often suffocate from reduced share of voice on cluttered Web pages. They are ignored when surrounded by engaging content like photo galleries. They may not even be seen by their audience when displayed on a Web site that inflates impressions through auto-refresh mechanisms.

All impressions sampled during the research period went to performance-based campaigns running Flash-based creative. All creative clicked through to simple, one-step actions like newsletter sign-ups.

(Source: Online Media Daily, 07/25/11)

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Public prefers “Hospitals” ove “Medical Centers”

July 27th, 2011 by Deb McLean
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Marketers are always looking for a new “spin” on an old idea. A way to “re-label” an old idea to get an advantage in the consumer’s mind. According to one instance, it appears some marketers haven’t checked with those that matter…the Public.

They may offer the same services, but a “hospital” offers better care than a “medical center,” at least in the public’s opinion.

That’s the finding of a survey conducted by Rivkin & Associates and Bauman Research & Consulting on patient perceptions of hospitals versus medical centers.

Steve Rivkin, founder of Rivkin and Associates in Glen Rock, N.J., said the perception that the word “hospital” is old-fashioned and tired began several years ago. For that reason, and the fact that many hospitals bought physician practices and added new services, many facilities dropped the word “hospital” from their names. In an attempt to become the focus of health care in their communities, they changed their names to medical centers.

Rivkin said the problem is that the decision to change the name is often based on inside judgments and reasoning that consumers disagree with. The public, across all demographics, favors a hospital over a medical center. They think hospitals have more to offer and provide a higher level of service, according to the survey.

“Tens of thousands of blue H signs across the country point the way to hospitals,” Rivkin said. “This survey indicates that consumers also point to hospitals over medical centers in terms of offering a wide range of services, delivering high-quality care, being on the cutting edge and having expert physicians.”

Rivkin said many physicians think “medical center” conveys prestige, as many academic facilities use it in their names.

“Regardless of those internal considerations, it’s always worth listening to the voice of the consumer,” he said.

(Source: American Medical News, 07/11/11)

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I don’t wanna grow old

July 22nd, 2011 by Deb McLean
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At some point, most brands, organizations, countries and yes, people, start talking about themselves like they’re old. I’ve never really felt old, although it did enter my mind last week when I looked around a meeting and realized that everyone else was half my age.

I recently found myself talking about myself like I’m getting old and I’ve made a decision I’m going to STOP IT!

I personally don’t believe in “I can’t change direction” or “I’m not going to be able to learn this new technology.” We all need to continue to thirst for knowledge and new challenges. That’s what will “keep us young”.

The truth is this, it’s your choice. It’s possible to put out a hit record at 40, run your first marathon at 60 and jump from a plane at 80. Nothing is quite as easy as it used to be, but that’s what makes it worth doing!

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Make sure right choice is easy

July 8th, 2011 by Deb McLean
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According to health.com,over the past several decades Americans have steadily gotten fatter. Although our increasingly sedentary lifestyles are partly to blame, a big reason for our national weight gain is that we’re simply eating more.

In the mid-2000s, government surveys show, the average American adult ate about 2,375 calories per day, nearly one-third more than he (or she) did in the late 1970s. What accounts for all those added calories?

According to a new study, the biggest single contributor to the sharp rise in calorie intake has been the number of snacks and meals people eat per day. Over the past 30-odd years, the study found, Americans have gone from consuming 3.8 snacks and meals per day to 4.9, on average — a 29% increase. The average portion size has increased, too, but only by about 12%. And, surprisingly, the average number of calories per 1-gram serving of food (known as “energy density”) actually declined slightly over that period, which suggests that calorie-rich food has played a relatively minor role in our expanding waistlines.

We’re eating more often and the frequency of eating is probably, for the average overweight adult, becoming a huge issue. Some blame food advertising and other marketing for the shift from three square meals a day to near-constant eating.

I think there’s just so many opportunities. You never used to see food staring you in the face when you went to a drug store for instance. It’s in your face and it’s cheap. It’s just easy to grab a magazine and a candy bar.

Make healthy options available for you and your children. If your only option for that “snack” is a piece of fruit or yogurt, then your decision is made. Speaking from experience, if my choice is chocolate chip cookies or a piece of fruit I’ll make the wrong choice!

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