As retailers and brands know all too well, going back-to-school in 2022 turned out to be harder than the past few years. Buying school supplies is an investment that parents need to plan carefully, but why are sellers being highly affected by parents’ purchase behaviour ?
Just a few years ago, parents could buy whatever they needed for their kids, but with the rise of inflation, they have to plan their purchases better. For instance, according to the National Retail Federation in the United States, this year families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $864 on school items. That’s about $15 more than last year.
Instead of buying things at the highest prices, they are now chasing deals, looking for the best prices, and that’s why the back-to-school season is one of the worst sales periods for sellers, now that many competitors are providing extended hours service with school supply lists being the top-selling items. The COVID pandemic has only served to increase traffic and sales during the back-to-school season, making it even more important for parents now to plan ahead and save as much as possible, and for retailers and brands to set and control their prices.
On the other hand, parents are looking for other things than school supplies:
Young students are following the back-to-school fashion trends, and parents are looking for the best deals on the secondary market, where parents can either find brand new school uniforms for up to 60% off retail prices, or the basic shirt and pants outfits.
But you know what is also trendy?
Going back to school also means that kids are now turning to the latest smartphones and laptops, especially in high school for more engagement and entertainment. Now that buying interactive whiteboards and other devices has become expensive, parents started to look for the best deals, including second hand gadgets.
Coming back to our title, “How to prepare your E-commerce for Back-To-School 2022”, we have identified some tips and solutions to turn the purchase-selling process easy and smooth for retailers and brands:
- For retailers and brands, price monitoring remains the ultimate practice for day-to-day pricing management, as prices go up and down for certain school supplies, like food, beauty and skin products, DIY fournitures and many other items.
- Using a price comparison software for supermarket competitors will allow you, as sellers, to view the promotions that your competitors are offering which can affect your final price.
- Using stock monitoring software will allow you to see when your competitors run out of stock of a specific product. This will allow you to implement a different pricing strategy and increase your sales.
As a brand or as a retailer, you can face both market opportunity and risk during the back-to-school season by optimising your prices. And now that you know what solutions and tips can help you increase your sales and stay ahead of your competitors, start using a pricing solution as part of your daily pricing strategy.
Netrivals price intelligence software will provide you with the opportunity to compare the prices of all your items, including a complete list of competitors that you are following, and also obtain a global perspective of your store.
Name of the Author: Abla Kabbaj
