Discounts and Promotions Drive Back-to-School Shopping
Closely watched retail indicators provide critical insight to the latest consumer behavior. As a sign of the times, more families this year say their purchases for back to school, the second-busiest shopping season, were influenced by coupons, sales and promotions.
According to a National Retail Federation survey released last week, 17% of families with children in grades Kindergarten-12th Grade say 100% of their purchases were influenced by bargains and coupons, up from 14.7% of families last year.
“It’s good to see consumers responding to back-to-school sales and promotions,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Back-to-school will be the first real test for retailers and the economy as we plan for the upcoming holiday season.”
As a retailer, you might be wondering where to invest your promotional resources to maximize your return? The survey provided insight to factors that most influence today’s shoppers:
For the largest retailers with huge advertising budgets, television commercials have pull. Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed (23.7%) said they were motivated to shop at a particular retailer because of their TV commercials. But mass market advertising is not for every retailer. The good news is that other, more reasonable approaches scored high among shoppers deciding why to shop at a particular store. According to NRF, advertising inserts (41.5%), in-store promotions (39.6%), word of mouth (27.4%), newspapers (25.5%) and direct mail (21.7%) were the other top media influencers affecting consumer decisions.
So for retailers everywhere, it looks as if the pressure to create promotions and incentives will continue for the foreseeable future. With the big holiday season rapidly approaching, stores will need to establish and promote their offers and programs to retain their best customers and attract new ones.
Fortunately for those companies using Retail Pro, the system has the power and flexibility to help retailers manage promotions and discount programs profitably and accurately. Watch closely for an upcoming offer for all Retail Pro customers!
