It’s been a hectic summer for many Canadians but as summer unfolds, retailers are already deep into the back-to-school season, a time that continues to start earlier each year, according to Jeff Doucette, General Manager of Field Agent Canada.
“We’ve already seen quite a bit of back-to-school in-store, for sure. Walmart was really quick out of the gate. I mean, Dollarama has already moved on to Halloween,” says Doucette.
He notes a quirky new trend emerging in the U.S. retail landscape. “It’s been kind of interesting. In the States, we’ve seen this season come out of nowhere called Summerween, which is basically the candy manufacturers trying to get another wave of Halloween candy into stores earlier.”
According to a Field Agent survey, 39% of Canadians say they will spend more this year than last year and 67% say inflation is impacting them more this year.
The top five retailers for school supplies are Walmart, Dollarama, Costco, Staples and Real Canadian Superstore, said Field Agent.
The Field Agent survey also found that 71% say social media influences their shopping decisions and 95% will take packed lunches/snacks to school
As for the Canadian market, Doucette’s team has been tracking back-to-school shopping behaviour through its annual survey now in its 10th year.
“The results don’t change enormously year to year. But a few things really stood out this time: one is the bigger influence of online shopping, particularly Temu. It’s really starting to be a go-to online retailer for back-to-school.”
He attributes this growth to the rising influence of kids themselves in the shopping process.
“As kids get older, they become more influential in the process of what gets bought for back-to-school. For example, my daughter sent me her list from Amazon through a site called Share My List or something like that. She did all the shopping herself, sent me the link, I clicked a button and paid for it, that was it.”
Digital trends aren’t the only shift. Economic concerns are playing a major role this year as well.
“People are still concerned about inflation. That’s nothing new, but I think it’s driving people to shop earlier and to shop online more frequently, trying to find deals they might not get in-store.”
That concern is also causing more families to shop more conservatively, Doucette says.
“We’re seeing people not buying the full list anymore. They’re actually going back and seeing what they already have on hand. Maybe the backpack from last year is still good. Maybe the indoor shoes from last year become this year’s outdoor shoes.”
In his own household, Doucette approached back-to-school shopping with a creative twist.
“I said, ‘Let’s have a scavenger hunt around the house, see what we can find,’ and then we just bought the rest. That was a different take rather than just buying everything new, let’s use what we’ve already got. And surprisingly, I think we already had half the list in the house.”
The earlier start to the season is becoming more noticeable, particularly among major retailers.
“With back-to-school, there’s a bit of a hard stop when kids are still in school. I don’t think parents want to be seeing back-to-school displays before school’s even out. But we don’t see it taking long after. Walmart, for example, had displays up right after Canada Day, they went straight into back-to-school.”
But with the increase in online shopping, early physical displays are no longer the only path to sales.
“You don’t even need the displays. People are just grabbing things off the website or finding deals in-store as they go. Retailers that get an early start probably do benefit. Those early shoppers get wrapped up quickly and that’s always been Costco’s strategy, right?”
One clear distinction between Canada and the U.S. also stood out in this year’s survey.
“The primary difference is that Canadians send their kids to school with lunches way more than Americans do. About 95% of Canadians send packed lunches with their kids, compared to only around 40-something per cent in the U.S.”
That creates unique opportunities for Canadian grocery retailers during the back-to-school season.
“Back-to-school is a much bigger deal for grocery retailers in Canada than it is in the U.S. There’s a real opportunity, not just in September but throughout the school year, to help parents solve that ‘what’s for lunch tomorrow?’ problem.”
And while no retailer has fully seized on that idea yet, Doucette offers a suggestion.
“One of my best little consulting ideas is: imagine a refrigerated display where you could find everything you need for lunches, crackers, yogurt, carrot sticks, all in one spot. I think that would be really cool if someone gave it a try.”
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