After a couple of years of remote learning, schools are now transitioning fully to in-person classes. For brands and retailers this is a vital development, since back-to-school shopping is the second most important retail period, just behind the winter holidays. But with a recession looming, inflationary pressures, and regional and global economic crises ongoing, there are some real concerns about how much consumers will be spending this year. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. In June 2022, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that the Consumer Price Index hit 9.1%, the highest it had been in over 40 years - and consumers still shopped on par with the previous year’s records.
For the upcoming school season, brands and retailers will have to optimize their marketing efforts to keep this spending trend going, and entice ever more price-conscious shoppers. To help, we’ve created a handy guide to some key trends to watch out for, as well as strategies to consider for the 2023 back-to-school period. Get out your notebooks and keep that pencil sharpened!