The Back-to-School demographic is worth every marketing dollar

Discount Store News, August 9, 1999 by Jennifer Negley

The second biggest selling season of the year is upon us, and it's shaping up to be robust.

The American Express Retail Index on shopping for Back-to-School found that spending by parents and teens will hit a new high this year: $455, a 12% increase over 1998. Teens expect to contribute 33% of that amount, or about $113.

Parents are most likely to buy clothing/apparel (66%), computer hardware/software (48%), books (24%) and electronics (16%). Teens also favor apparel (75%) followed by electronics (37%), computer hardware/software (34%), school supplies (22%) and books (18%).

While both parents and teens favor mall shopping (75% and 92%, respectively), their preference in retailers varies. Teens would rather shop specialty stores (36%) than department stores (19%) or mass merchandisers (18%). Their parents, however, head to mass merchandisers (38%) rather than department stores (23%) or specialty stores (16%).

Retailers of all stripes are doing everything they can to draw attention in their direction.

Kmart. The chain is putting a big push on Star Wars licensed apparel through a four-part series of commercials featuring Phantom Menace merchandise. The campaign will peak again during Halloween and holiday

Office Depot. This month, each store will have on hand a "Back-to-School expert" who will demonstrate the hottest products and answer customer queries.

OfficeMax. A sweepstakes available both in OfficeMax stores and on its Web site will give away six next generation Volkswagen Beetles as part of the promotional theme "Catch the OfficeMax School Bug." On its Web site, 1,000 skus of Back-to-School products are organized in categories for elementary high school and college students, along with a special area for teachers.

Staples. Also making a pitch to the Internet generation, Staples has launched an on-line Back-to-School Center featuring specially tagged Back-to-School items, weekly Back-to-School specials, and age-specific lists of the supplies students are most likely to need.

RadioShack. To spur Back-to-School computer sales, the chain is offering a $400 mail-in rebate from CompuServe 2000 Internet Service to consumers who purchase any Compaq PC and a monitor. Customers must sign up for a three-year contract.

Sears. To draw more teen girls into stores, Sears this month is promoting an exclusive marketing campaign that features the Backstreet Boys. In addition to sponsoring the group's fall North American tour, Sears is promoting a Back-to-School sweepstakes that will give five fans each the chance to win a $2,000 Sears shopping spree with their favorite Backstreet Boy and a trip for four to the group's final tour concert, Dec. 1 in Tampa, Fla.

So it's looking to be a busy month on the retail scene. The Consumer Credit Counseling Service also gave mass merchandisers a plug, issuing a recommendation 11 days ago that advised consumers to shop on line for Back-to-School. CCCS's tip: "Visit your favorite discounters on line for specials and to avoid lines." CCCS's suggestions about where to start looking on line: Wal-Mart, OfficeMax and JCPenney.