While 2019 no doubt reached record back-to-school shopping milestones, 2020 is poised to push back-to-school spending once again to record levels, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Only this year, the catalyst for this record spending, presents itself as the Covid-19 pandemic, which may make the most interesting not to mention, befuddling back-to-school shopping season yet.
On the recommendation of health experts and state officials, just about every public school district, as well as most private schools in the U.S., dismissed in-person classes mid-March and parlayed into a remote school program to finish out the school year.
This switch to online education affected roughly 53M students in grades K-12 alone and left many parents reeling, finding themselves without the time or resources to become an instant and effective teacher. The current reality is that in most areas across the U.S., many superintendents are still struggling to get a safe and practical re-opening plan together that makes sense for students, teachers and parents alike. This uncertainty has manifested straight to parents' back-to-school buying strategies. In fact, Deloitte's annual back-to-school survey indicates that 66% of parents are anxious about sending their children back into a classroom this fall due to Covid-19 concerns.
So what role does this anxiety really play in 2020 back-to-school shopping and if there are records being broken, what is all this money being spent on? Download Your Complete Back-to-School Affiliate Planning Strategy, Pepperjam’s ebook designed to give you the latest data coupled with practical takeaway strategies to ensure you’re at the head of the class when it comes to your back-to-school promotion strategies.
