It’s almost Christmas in July! Amazon Prime Day is upon us, and 51% of the ~19M addressable online adult population of back-to-school (BTS) shoppers will be loading up their carts to meet their school supply needs.
Pop quiz: How early is too early to begin back-to-school shopping? It’s already started. Over 21% of BTS consumers prefer to start their shopping before July 1.
Savvy marketers are already in the game and hyper-focused on getting their share of the $105B BTS market. It’s not too late to establish your brand before the bell rings in the Fall semester.
You can create and activate a BTS campaign quickly and effectively with Resonate’s proprietary AI-powered data that shows your whole customer and what they value to get to the why behind their decisions.
Acquire & retain back-to-school shoppers
Why do you need to know more about them? Just because two families live in the same neighborhood and have kids under 18 doesn’t mean they want the same things for their kids. Most likely, they have different values that drive different consumer behavior.
To tap into this market, you need to understand your current and potential consumers at the human level. The key is to maximize your 1st-party data to fill the gaps in your understanding of customers and prospects with the most recent and predictive data on intent, psychographics and in-market signals.
To get you started, we dug into the personal values, motivations & lifestyles of BTS shoppers using the Resonate Ignite Platform.
Knowing psychographics like these can help you target more efficiently:
- Being in charge and directing people: consider themes of being assertive, commanding and building confidence within children. Adding messaging and creative about being at the “top of the class” could resonate with this audience.
- Maintaining traditions: highlight the importance of community, familial traditions and family routines in relation to the school year and getting children prepared for school; highlight themes of family, religion, and culture in messaging.
- Show abilities and be admired: parents have to be their children’s number one fan; help empower parents to celebrate their children’s accomplishments by focusing messaging on the way parents provide a supportive backbone for their kids.
What drives these back-to-school shoppers’ purchases?
Resonate data also can show you what is driving consumer purchasing behavior. Brand loyalty? Price? Convenience? Something else? This year’s BTS audience is more likely to purchase a product that is family-friendly, fun/exciting and unique. Interestingly, they are less likely to purchase products that are considered durable or high-quality.
When it comes to making purchasing decisions, they prefer products that are family-friendly (24%) and seem fun to use (24%). When they choose where they want to make those purchases, they choose based on the best prices and widest product selection over location and sales.
Want to learn more about how privacy-safe, continuously refreshed Resonate AI-driven data informs better predictive models for hyper-targeted campaigns that reach the right shopper at the right time across the right channels? Talk to us.
What Resonate data reveals about the BTS audience:
- The values and motivations that drive these shoppers in their everyday lives and how that influences their shopping behaviors
- The buying preferences that should inform your messaging, offers and more
- Where you’ll find these shoppers on and offline across channels, including streaming and OTT
This summer’s BTS audience is more connected than ever, and social media has played a larger role than ever in driving their purchasing decisions. Resonate’s media consumption data shows that Pinterest is popular among these back-to-school shoppers.
According to Pinterest, this trend has been brewing for years but is just now reaching a fever pitch: over the last five years, 81% of parents who use Pinterest report it influencing their day-to-day life. As the BTS shopping season continues to heat up, savvy marketers should take note of where and how these influential conversations are being held.
Turn seasonal shoppers into year-round customers
Back-to-school season is one of the busiest times of year for families, and this high volume of customers means large amounts of money changing hands. To create effective messaging that lets your team tap into the over $105B that will be spent on school supplies this summer, you need the right data – data that’s fast, applicable and constantly updating.
What is your strategy to earn their loyalty on behalf of your clients when class is back in session? Get to know your key BTS shoppers by using fresh, predictive, AI-powered data to:
- Boost engagement with your brand for repeat purchases
- Launch more effective campaigns across all channels
- Drive individual-level personalization at scale
Don’t lose back-to-school shoppers after the school year begins – craft campaigns that keep them engaged and buying until the final bell rings.
