1. Back to School Shopper Behavior Survey July 23, 2014

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Topics
About the survey
Key insights
The details
How we shop: key influencers
Where we shop: channels
How we use promotions
The impact of social and mobile
Top takeaways for the Back to School retailer
9/19/2018
Baynote, Inc. © 2014 Confidential

3. Baynote, Inc. © 2014 Confidential
About the survey
WHAT? Measure back to school shopping behavior in order to help retailers deliver more effective merchandising techniques and shopping tools and to better understand the back to school shopper expectations, preferences and purchasing
WHO? Baynote in cooperation with Lauren Freedman, the e-tailing group
HOW? 1,000 respondents between July 7 and 14, 2014
60% female/40% male
100% owned smartphones
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Demographics
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5. Demographics-doesn’t seem like a demographic
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Demographics
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7. Key findings: how we shop
Shoppers select and cross channels for efficiency
Many families make an effort to shop early and “get ahead of the game”
Back to school is a family affair: parents collaborate and shop with students
Favored purchasing, promotions and logistical choice increasingly involve mobile
Content like school-supplied lists, student wish lists aid selection
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Baynote, Inc. © 2014 Confidential

8. Key findings: where we shop
Stores are the back to school favorite: online figures in more with older students
Significant research (prior to in-store visits) is taking place via mobile devices
Amazon has the unique ability to influence and impact shopping in all channels
Social sees traction particularly among college families where Facebook is the powerhouse
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9. Key findings: what influences us
Content like school supplies lists, student wish lists and product reviews make a big impact
Typical or traditional marketing tools (list) still influence purchasing across channels
Amazon and catalogs are key drivers across channels
Smartphones are the tool of choice for accessing pricing promotions, finding stores, and researching items
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10. How we shop: key influencers

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It’s a family affair: 7 in 10 shop together in store and most (56%) review lists before shopping
Shopping together online scores points as well
Q12
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12. Content guides are popular: so are student wish lists
Q11
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13. Key influencers change with student age
How influential are guides for outfitting your dorm room/tips for back to school efficiency when selecting a retailers where you ultimately purchase
Very Influential
Grade School
High School
College +
Gap
(College-Grade)
College registries
14%
18%
28%
Retailer checklists for college/dorms
17%
21%
26% 9%
Guides for purchasing product
19%
22%
27% 8%
Blogs with school experts
15%
23%
Your student’s wish list
33%
40%
41%
Product reviews
29%
31%
35% 6%
School-supplied lists
67%
57%
55%
-12%
Q11
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14. Amazon leads cross channel influencers
and paper catalogs get the attention of almost 40% of in store and online shoppers
Q13/14
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15. Where we shop: CHANNELS

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Physical stores still sacred ground for some yet online is important to 1 in 3 shoppers with mobile’s incremental growth
Q10
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Shoppers will use every channel but appear to prefer single channel approaches
Retail-only
Online only
2+ channel choices involve more research prior to in store purchase or inventory lookup
2+ channels
Online only Q9
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Grade school parents are more retail-centric while college families favor online shopping
Channels
Grade School
High School
College +
Gap
(College-Grade)
Retail only shopping
1-Retail Only
70%
68%
54%
-16%
Buy online, ship to school
1-Online Only 9%
10%
17% 8%
Buy online, ship to home/business
56%
53%
62% 6%
Buy online, ship to store
2 Channels
24%
21%
29% 5%
Retail visit, online purchase
2 channels
13%
14%
16% 3%
Research online, purchase in-store
51% 0%
Check for inventory prior to store visit
32%
27%
26%
-6% Q9
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19. How we use promotions

20. Promotions are core to B2S purchasing: clearance and buy one get one are seasonal standards
1 in 3 will “very likely”
take advantage of
channel-specific offers from unconditional free shipping to flash sales and
store-only promotions Q8
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21. Shoppers gravitate to promotions
promotions continue to drive buying while 1 in 2 shoppers taking advantage of clearance, web only and catalog promos
70%+ of shoppers are very/somewhat likely to tap into conditional free shipping offers with flash sales and social promotions moving up Q8
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22. Social & Mobile impact

23. Social media is dominated by Facebook
Q15
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24. Social traction greatest among college age families
Q. How often will you and/or your student use the following social media when completing back-to-school shopping?
Grade School
High School
College +
Gap
(College-Grade)
Flickr
25%
19%
42%
17%
LinkedIn
22%
27%
37%
15%
Twitter
32%
39%
46%
14%
SnapChat
20%
26%
33%
13%
Instagram
30%
35% 9%
Pinterest
38%
47% 8%
Google+
41%
43%
49%
Tumblr 5%
Facebook
58%
57%
60% 2%
Q13
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25. Top (always/frequent) influencers in ONLINE purchases
Grade School
High School
College +
Gap
(College-Grade)
Facebook
21%
25%
31%
10%
Instagram
11%
16%
Pinterest
17%
24% 8%
Twitter
14%
18% 7%
Google Searches with Available Product & Imagery
38%
33%
43% 5%
Promotional Text Messaging from retailers
26%
29%
Amazon
50%
49%
54% 4%
Retailer’s eCommerce Sites
36% 3%
Product Recommendations on eCommerce website
34%
Promotion
41%
37% 2%
Online Ratings
39%
Mobile Advertising
23% 0%
Paper Catalogs
42%
Personalized and Customized
Q13
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26. Saving money and accessing information are core to smartphone usage
Q16
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27. Researching products online across mobile devices dominates the curve
22% of college age parents vs. 18% grade school will use tablets for purchasing
26% of grade school vs. 22% of college families will use smartphones for purchasing
Q17
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28. Key takeaways for back to school retailers

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Shoppers are coming into your store – make sure stores are merchandised with the right promotions tailored to the whole family
Provide content that helps your shopper explore, decide and at the older ages, share
Shoppers are expecting a complete, consistent and relevant experience – online, in-store. Ensure logistics can support cross-channel behavior from in-store pickup to product locators.
Shoppers want and seek promotions by channel – plan yours accordingly
9/19/2018
Baynote, Inc. © 2014 Confidential

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