Anticipation of Sales is Top Reason Back-to-School Shoppers Are Waiting to Get Started, Reports NPD

Consumers seeking out deals and summer fun before shopping for back-to-school

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Aug. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Rising prices and consumers shopping for more immediate needs has disrupted early back-to-school shopping season performance. In the first seven weeks of the back-to-school shopping season, U.S. non-school-related general merchandise sales revenue grew 4%, while school spending fell short of last year's results. In a recent survey, 41% of back-to-school shopping hold-outs are waiting for sales, according to The NPD Group, which recently merged with Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) to create a leading global technology, analytics and data provider.

"Consumers are balancing their return to school, work, and social activities, while retaining some pandemic-related behaviors, and prioritizing their purchases accordingly," said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry advisor for NPD. "Consumers have been more focused on travel and social activities this summer, pushing the 2022 back-to-school shopping peak later. This is another example of here-and-now shopping leading to shallower retail spending peaks, with sales realized over a longer stretch of time."

Portable beverageware and coloring and art supply categories were among the fastest growing school-related categories in the early part of this season, demonstrating some attention being paid to school needs. However, the continued strong sales revenue growth in beauty and the automotive aftermarket further illustrate that the majority of the consumer's spending remains focused on other activities.

"Consumers are still spending on summer fun, and the back-to-school focus has yet to kick into high gear – but it will," Cohen said. "While retailers have clearly begun to use promotions to drive more sales, marketers need to continue entice the acceleration of back-to-school purchasing in general, and create some urgency for apparel, technology, and other high-volume stragglers."

About The NPD Group
NPD is a global market information company offering data, industry expertise, and prescriptive analytics to help our clients understand today's retail landscape and prepare for the future. Over 2,000 companies worldwide rely on us to help them measure, predict, and improve performance across all channels, including brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, and B2B. We have services in 21 countries worldwide, with operations spanning the Americas, Europe, and APAC. Practice areas include apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, books, B2B technology, consumer technology, e-commerce, fashion accessories, food consumption, foodservice, footwear, home, home improvement, juvenile products, media entertainment, mobile, office supplies, retail, sports, toys, and video games. For more information, visit npd.com. Follow us on Twitter: @npdgroup.

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SOURCE The NPD Group