BRIGHTER BTS
Sales during the important back-to-school season are poised to bounce back from the pandemic-related lows seen last year, thanks largely to expectations that children will return to schools in person and will need wardrobe updates and school supplies. Below are four things to know about the upcoming fall season.
BEST YEAR EVER
Mastercard Spending Pulse forecast that sales in stores and online could increase 5.5% year over year from July 15 to Sept. 6. And even when compared with 2019 levels, spending is predicted to be up 6.9% . Apparel sales are expected to jump
78.2% year-over-year, according to Mastercard, and department stores should see a 25.3% boost from 2020.
IN-STORE RULES
Plenty of shoppers plan to venture out to stores, according to a Shopkick survey: 92% of participants said they will go to stores, compared with 66% from last fall, and big-box retailers like
Target and Walmart will take the majority share of in-store shoppers. Amazon will be the winner for online sales, according to the report.
NEW THREADS
Apparel is the largest category consumers will spend on, at 60% of dollars spent, while 24% of dollars will be spent on basic school supplies like backpacks, notebooks and pens, said Shopkick. Consumers who plan to spend more on BTS purchases reported that they will do so because they didn’t spend as much last year while children were at home completing school work remotely.
EXTRA TIME
The NPD Group Inc. recently noted that the BTS shopping season could be “drawn out” because many school districts do not start their year until after Labor Day, which is Sept. 6 . Some districts, however, begin as early as Aug. 2 . “Depending on how the June promotions play out, we could see both an early and a late boost this year,” said Beth Goldstein, accessories and footwear industry analyst at NPD.