{"id":3552,"date":"2021-07-12T13:14:19","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T18:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/?post_type=articles&#038;p=3552"},"modified":"2021-07-12T13:14:20","modified_gmt":"2021-07-12T18:14:20","slug":"back-to-school-retail-2021","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/back-to-school-retail-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Back-to-School 2021: How to Prepare for a Successful Retail Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We\u2019ve never been more excited about a back-to-school retail\nseason. After 2020\u2019s constant back and forth of students going into school, or\nnot, we\u2019re thrilled that classrooms are able to safely open back up. It\u2019s hard\nto tell who\u2019s more excited: students or parents. But regardless of who\u2019s more\nanxious to get out of the house, one thing is for sure: this will be a back-to-school\nseason like no other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But after a year of uncertain shopping patterns and few kids\nphysically present in schools, what can brands and retailers expect? How can\nthey prepare to make this season as successful as possible?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Retail Trends Can We Expect out of Back to School in 2021?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The forecast is positive. NRF reports that parents with\nschool age children will <a href=\"https:\/\/nrf.com\/insights\/holiday-and-seasonal-trends\/back-to-school\">spend\nan average of $789.94 family, nearly $100 more than in 2020<\/a>. On a macro\nlevel, total back to school spending is expected to be at an all-time high of\n$33.9 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what are these dollars being spent on? In high school\nand younger:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>95% of consumers will be purchasing new school\nsupplies<\/li><li>93% of consumers are refreshing their wardrobe<\/li><li>90% are looking for new shoes<\/li><li>And 63% are expecting to buy new electronics<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Driving these stats are new shopping trends, partly changed by the pandemic and partly by the increased use of social media in teens. <a href=\"https:\/\/insights.digitalmediasolutions.com\/articles\/back-to-school-preview-brands-digital-advertising\">Omnichannel shopping<\/a> will be the big winner this year and it\u2019s not hard to see why. For nearly two years, kids have been stuck at home, figuring out who they are in this new world, and now they\u2019re ready to show off their fresh kicks and \u201cserve lewks.\u201d Parents on the other hand are just happy to have a return to normalcy and are ready to update worn-out clothing and tired colored pencils. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though online shopping is more popular than ever,\npeople are ready to participate in \u201creal life\u201d again, which should bring a\nbreath of fresh air to brick-and-mortar retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For brands selling in physical locations, especially big-box retailers now\u2019s the time to put the final polishing touches on your back-to-school strategies. Here are three tips to make sure your brand is capitalizing on the increased foot traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 1: Embrace In-Store Marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Brands can take advantage of the return to brick-and-mortar\nlocations by launching in-store promotional campaigns. This will capture\neyeballs of eager shoppers and help to drive purchases. If you\u2019re like us, it\ncan be a little overwhelming coming back into fully packed stores, so any way\nyou can get your brand to stand out is going to be a winning strategy in this\nstrange year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few ideas for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/how-in-store-marketing-helps-brands-stand-out-and-sell\/\">in-store\nmarketing<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/services\/endcaps-displays\/\"><strong>Endcaps and\nSidecap Displays<\/strong><\/a>: Use attention-grabbing displays to attract shoppers.\nThink colorful, clear messaging, and even interactive to take full advantage of\nthese prime locations. <\/li><li><strong>Signage<\/strong>: If a full display is not in the\ncards this year, embrace signage. In the store\u2019s aisles, on the windows, and\nwhatever other location you\u2019re able to secure. Signs should be visually\nappealing and direct shoppers to purchase your product on the shelves.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/services\/instant-redeemable-coupons\/\"><strong>Instant\nRedeemable Coupons (IRCs)<\/strong><\/a>: Don\u2019t forget about marketing directly on\nyour products. Place on-item signage, like IRCs to encourage more sales. This\nis especially useful this year when people are still keeping an eye on their\nbudgets.<\/li><li><strong>Bundles: <\/strong>Get creative with your\nback-to-school inventory. Can you create a bundle of products? People love to\nfeel like they\u2019re getting a good deal and bundles offer that as well as\nconvenience.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 2: Use Digital Channels to Drive Foot Traffic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For years, there\u2019s been chatter about omnichannel shopping\nand using digital channels to drive in-store traffic. The question isn\u2019t\nwhether it\u2019s important but rather, how?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartinsights.com\/online-brand-strategy\/multichannel-strategies\/5-ways-retailers-can-use-digital-drive-store-footfall\/\">tips\nto increase in-store sales<\/a>, digitally: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>\u00a0<strong>Make it easy for web visitors to find your physical inventory<\/strong>: On your website, include maps, transportation information, and compelling photography. This will make people understand what they have to gain by visiting your products in-store and make it easy for them to get there.<\/li><li>\u00a0<strong>Pay attention to SEO<\/strong>: Identify where your items sell and include local SEO campaigns to drive nearby foot traffic. As of right now, local SEO is still an underrated strategy but highly effective.<\/li><li>\u00a0<strong>Buy online, pick up in store<\/strong>: Capture dollars earlier by promoting any opportunities to buy online and pick up later in the store. Bonus points if you can include exclusive coupons that are only redeemable in the store.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 3: Tighten Up In-Store Execution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What happens if you\u2019ve driven the foot traffic to the store,\ncustomers are ready to buy from you, but then they can\u2019t find your product? Not\nonly is that sale lost but now you have an unhappy customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few ways you can make sure your in-store\nexecution is in tip-top shape:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Perform frequent <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/services\/reset-revision-audits\/\"><strong>audits<\/strong><\/a>: Use a trusted 3<sup>rd<\/sup> party merchandiser to keep inventory counts accurate, shelves full, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/services\/ism-execution-and-maintenance\/\">in-store marketing<\/a> materials in place.<\/li><li><strong>Maintain your <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/services\/planogram-maintenance\/\"><strong>planograms<\/strong><\/a>: Don\u2019t just set it and leave it. Make sure that your planogram is getting frequent stocking and organizing attention during busy traffic times to raise sales by an average of 6%.<\/li><li><strong>Stay informed<\/strong>:Keep your finger on the pulse of in-store reality with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/target\/snap-audits\/\">Snap Audits<\/a>.\u00a0 These highly effective data gathering store visits provide a store level view, providing macro actionable insights.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best ways to make sure your products are flying off the shelves is by partnering with an expert retail merchandising firm. Check out our list of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/improve-in-store-execution-7-questions-to-ask-retail-merchandising-agencies\/\">7 questions to ask retail merchandising agencies<\/a> to make sure you\u2019re finding the right one for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/contact\/\"><strong>Contact us today<\/strong><\/a><strong> to discover how we can help this back-to-school season be your best yet.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3553,"template":"","article_categories":[40,9],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Back-to-School 2021: How to Prepare for a Successful Retail Season - RMS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover retail trends for back-to-school 2021 and what retail vendors can do to make this their best back-to-school season yet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rmservicing.com\/articles\/back-to-school-retail-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Back-to-School 2021: How to Prepare for a Successful Retail Season - 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