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Suzy Davidkhanian: Hi, everyone. Today is Wednesday, August 5th. Welcome to eMarketer's weekly retail show, Reimagining Retail, an eMarketer podcast made possible by AWIN. This is the show where we talk about how retail collides with every part of our lives, and I'm your host, Suzy Davidkhanian. On today's episode, we're talking back to school, but this isn't gonna be another episode about getting ready for the season.

Suzy Davidkhanian: We're already in it. So instead, we're asking a much more practical question: What can retailers and brands still do now to make the most of what's left of the season? Joining me are podcast regulars, Arielle Fager. Hi, Arielle.

Arielle Feger: Hi. I'm ready to give this an A+ try.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Oh my God, I love that. Thanks. And Rachel Wolff.

Rachel Wolff: I, I feel like the pressure is on now for me to do a back to school pun, but I did not come prepared. I,

Arielle Feger: I didn't either. It wasn't even very good, the one I just said, but-

Suzy Davidkhanian: I don't know. Yeah, it's still good I love A++. So we all know that back to school is the second biggest shopping season of the year after the holidays.

Suzy Davidkhanian: We're expecting, according to our forecast, that retail sales are expected to reach $85 billion in the US this year. But unlike the holidays, there really isn't one finish line. School calendars vary by region. College students have different needs. We're increasingly seeing shoppers that don't stop shopping when school officially starts.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Many families are spreading purchases over the months as they wait for deals. The list goes on. There's school supply lists, and there's simply everybody is trying to discover what they need to get now and save for later. In fact, according to NRF annual study, nearly half of parents say they'll just buy the essentials now to start the year, and then they'll replenish as they need.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So while much of the planning happened six months ago, there still seems to be some levers marketers can pull now. Many shoppers are still waiting for those deals. Others are filling in the gaps. So today isn't about planning for back to school, it's much more about how do you make the most of the season.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So before we jump in, you guys tell me- Mm-hmm ... what's one back to school season moment, maybe an ad or a campaign or a merchandising idea that you've seen so far that you've thought, "Hey, that's clever"? I'm gonna start. Because you guys didn't know this question was coming. And the reason- Frantic

Rachel Wolff: Googling begins.

Arielle Feger: I know, right?

Suzy Davidkhanian: The reason I wanted to ask you that, because I, w- we are in season, it is very difficult to change, to make a big game changer, but it's also nice to see some ideas. And I was listening to my Google Home, and there was an ad for Whole Foods. I've never heard an ad for Whole Foods, never mind on, like, a podcast.

Suzy Davidkhanian: And it was all about how they do all the work of figuring out what the ingredients are so that there are no dyes and no bad things in the deli meats, so that parents can spend more time making lunches and doing other things that are more important. And I thought, "Wow, that's so clever." Talk about an unexpected sort of category to come up for back to school ads.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Arielle, what do you have?

Arielle Feger: Yeah, I have a similar one actually, um, and it's kind of similar to maybe something we'll be talking about a little later. But, um, I heard an ad on a podcast, um, also, um, for a, a pillow and bedding company. Unfortunately, I don't remember the brand name. Um, but I thought it was a really good opportunity for a category where it's not like pencils or pens or, you know, notebooks.

Arielle Feger: Um, it's not necessarily something you think about when you think back to school. But it was, you know, the, the season's coming up, you wanna make sure your kids are getting the rest that they need, and I thought it was just a really thoughtful way to kind of incorporate the brand into, you know, the back to school season.

Rachel Wolff: Yeah, the one that immediately came to mind for me was, I don't know about you, but I'm still going through World Cup withdrawal.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Oh, yeah.

Rachel Wolff: Um, and American Eagle announced a partnership with Lamine Yamal, one of the stars of the Spanish soccer team, and he's gonna be a big part of their back to school campaigns.

Rachel Wolff: And, you know, again, as somebody who is, you know, mourning the loss of World Cup content, this was s- right up my alley. But I also think it's a good way to leverage, you know, what was the event of the summer and, you know, keep that attention on you as a brand.

Arielle Feger: Yeah, that's really smart.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So back to our what do you do now?

Suzy Davidkhanian: So I thought instead of, um, our usual, we could do some segments. Uh, w- the first one is about the pie. So everyone is focusing on back to school shopping over the longer period, but we all know that after folks go back to school, students go back to school, they're almost always asking their parents for something else.

Suzy Davidkhanian: There's like this second wave. They see something, there's like some FOMO happening. They see their friends wearing something, they're on social, they see something they didn't even know that they needed, and now here's another shopping trip. So if you imagine all of that post first day spending in one pie, and you have to divide the pie by 100 using percents, w- how would you divide it?

Suzy Davidkhanian: These are the categories. Which gets the biggest slice of the pie? The categories are sneakers, apparel, beauty and personal care, backpacks, or, because I also prefer a wild card, I'm giving you a wild card. So sneakers, apparels, beauty and personal care, or backpacks, or give me another category. What do you think?

Suzy Davidkhanian: Rachel, let's start with you.

Rachel Wolff: So, okay. So I would say apparel is probably the big one, because you don't really know what people are gonna show up to school wearing, and then once you get there, you're like, "Oh, that looks really cool. I want that." Or like, "Oh, there's this brand that, uh, I, I need to have." So I feel like for me, that would be about half of my pie.

Rachel Wolff: But the other, another category that I think, uh, is pretty big would be beauty and personal care, because, you know, from my perspective on the retail and e-commerce briefing, we've written so much about Gen Alpha and their beauty habits, and how those are, you know, crossing gender lines, and how, you know, kids have their own, like, 10-step beauty routines.

Rachel Wolff: And so also from a FOMO perspective, you know, there is a lot of exchange that's happening in schools, and I think that would be one area where, you know, kids are just gonna wanna build their shelves, so to speak. As for a wild card category, I was just trying to think, like, what category would a Stanley Cup fall into?

Rachel Wolff: Or, like, that sort of- ... accessory that becomes the must-have, or like a Labubu- Ooh ... which I guess is more of a toy. But, you know, those sort of, like, miscellaneous, like, fun- Like a

Suzy Davidkhanian: lunch and, yeah ...

Rachel Wolff: Right. Uh, like accessory type, uh, categories that, you know, are a big marker of social status that kids just have to have if you wanna be cool, and every kid wants to be cool.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I love that. So nothing from a supply list that a parent bought a private label for?

Rachel Wolff: Right. I feel like, you know, the backpacks and the sneakers, those are bigger purchases that you would make in the lead up to the school year. Okay. And maybe not as much in the early days.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Ariel, what do you think?

Arielle Feger: Yeah. I feel like Rachel and I are thinking along kind of similar lines.

Arielle Feger: Um, I think apparel would be kind of the biggest chunk. You go, you know, I, I do remember, like, the emphasis on the first day of school outfit, but again, like, you go in, you see what everyone else is wearing, you want that, you want this. So I think that that would get a pretty big, um, you know, post first day bump.

Arielle Feger: Um, similar, you know, beauty and personal care. Again, you're, you, you know, you're like, "Oh, I, I really, you know, like what you're wearing," or, um, you know, your friend tells you about, you know, this new skincare routine that she's doing. And so I think that would also receive a pretty big, um, bump. And then, you know, uh, sneakers and backpacks, I think there might be some, you know, residual, um, you know, buying after the fact.

Arielle Feger: But, um, I was wondering, uh, uh, uh, about, you know, where tech falls into this, consumer electronics or tech. You know, I think obviously those are probably a lot of purchases you're making, um, before the school year. But, you know, I'm sure there is an opportunity, you know, to see, you know, is there something you're gonna need that's different this year, or do you need an upgrade on your laptop?

Arielle Feger: So I don't know. I, I, I don't know if that would be a, a big bump, but I do wonder, you know, about what that could look like.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Yeah. For me, this, this bump is about the f- literally the FOMO, like the things you see other kids. So it could include sneakers, right? Yeah. Someone's wearing a pair of sneakers that you're like, "Oh my God, I have to have that."

Suzy Davidkhanian: And all of a sudden you're going home and you're telling your parents, "Oh my God, I must have that." It's like this big want. And I'm wondering, as retailers and brands are thinking about that now, do they lean into that idea more and use TikTok maybe? Like, is this second wave of purchasing happening that is not the mandatory things, but the visible, the truly visible, like you said, Rachel, the status-y sort of items.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Is that even more bigger now because of TikTok and other social platforms?

Arielle Feger: I think so. Yeah, I, I definitely think that's having an impact. Um, because again, not only are you just seeing what people are wearing, you know, at your school, but you're seeing what kids are wearing and using throughout the entire world.

Arielle Feger: Um, it just opens up a big window for you to kind of discover more things, and I think that's bound to have a big influence on, you know, those, like, you know, impulse or I want purchases rather than the have to haves.

Rachel Wolff: And I think also it speaks to the way that purchasing decisions have shifted, right? I think, like, when I was a kid, I feel like it was just my parents picking out what I would wear and, you know, the, the school supplies and that sort of thing.

Rachel Wolff: Whereas, you know, with social media, you know, with all these new influences, I feel like the kids themselves have a much bigger say in what, what they're wearing, what their parents are buying for back to school.

Suzy Davidkhanian: It's true, which kind of brings us to the next segment, which is what would you do? So not every brand, like we just said, not every brand is part of a school supply list, not every brand is a must-have, um, but it doesn't mean that you can't win during the back to school season.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So now I want you to imagine that you're the CM of a brand that isn't an obvious back to school player, like, I don't know, Sephora. Maybe it's obvious now, I'm not sure. Pick a brand or a category, tell us what that is of course, and then tell us what would you do. And I selected three plays, if you will, but if this one does...

Suzy Davidkhanian: If one of these don't match what you would do with your brand or retailer, then you get a wild card. So own the moment. This is what I think of when I think of some of the higher price points where they do talk about picture day or first day of school or, depending on the category, maybe it's about moving in day and making the dorm feel yours or study nights.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So own the moment, number one. Number two, win the student. Rachel, to your point, sometimes you have to win the parent through the kid. So how do you think about the socials, the creators, the peer influencers, maybe word of mouth to try and get that to happen as a brand? Or number three, borrow an audience.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Sometimes you need to partner with a different brand or you need to do pop-ups or I'm thinking about, you know, some of those big box brands that do the, um, the pop-ups at campuses and, like, the trucks where, like, the, you know, once upon a time brand comes to your small village, college town to show you all of their wares, and you maybe make a purchase.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So, like, how do you borrow the audience in a moment that is not obviously yours? Aria, let's start with you. Yeah. What's your brand, and what are you gonna do?

Arielle Feger: So I was thinking about, like, a, like a Johnson & Johnson or kind of a, a CPG consumer health wellness kind of products, like Band-Aids or hand sanitizer or first aid kits.

Arielle Feger: Um, I think those... I mean, maybe to some people that might be obvious, um, but maybe to some people it wouldn't be obvious. And so I was thinking, okay, like, what would I wanna do? And I think, you know, I would really... This is, this is really basic, but I would just really double down on my retailer partnerships, um, particularly with, you know, with a CVS, with a Walgreens, you know, and kind of create those, like- First, you know, school survival kits, you know, and really just focus on putting together all of the products that people will need.

Arielle Feger: I'm a big believer in a one-stop shop, um, so here is all of the things that you can grab, um, to just make sure that, you know, your kid is safe and healthy and, you know, protected throughout the year. I know, again, it's a little bit basic, but I'm, I'm really thinking, you know, that's what it's all about, is just putting it in front of people, um, and making it easy.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I don't know where you went to school, but I didn't have a survival kit. I don't know, did I miss out?

Arielle Feger: No. I mean, I didn't... I mean, I, I think, you know, when I went to college, I probably was, you know, went with a, a first aid kit, but I, I maybe I'm just thinking a lot about safety. But- Oh ... and I mean, their school nurses have a lot of products as well.

Arielle Feger: But I'm thinking, you know, for home or, you know, on the go, you know, you n- I- ... you need that- Well, so- ... that Band-Aid.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Yeah. I think, you know, basically what I'm hearing is that almost every category can find a back to school moment, and there are some quick wins that you could do right now, which is things like, uh, partner with a retailer and maybe have a really good merchandising strategy and this- Yeah

Suzy Davidkhanian: you know, bundling, and so you're offering value and you're getting all the things you need. Make it as easy as you can for me.

Arielle Feger: Yes. Cool. That is the goal.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I love it. Rachel, what about you?

Rachel Wolff: So I was thinking a little bit more generally. Like, I, I didn't have a specific, uh, company like Johnson & Johnson in mind, but I was thinking about, like, particularly winning the student, which, you know, relates back to what I was saying earlier about the fact that kids are playing a bigger role in these decisions.

Rachel Wolff: I think PWC had this great stat of, uh, 61% of parents plan to let their kids add items directly to their online carts, right? So again, you need to get in front of this audience, and how do you do that? Um, one strategy I would suggest is TikTok Shop, right? I mean, this is an area where we know that kids are engaged, they're spending time, and it's also a great avenue to drive impulse purchases, which it feels like a lot of these kid-driven purchases tend to be.

Rachel Wolff: I mean, it's like you see something and you wanna have it, and I think TikTok Shop is sort of the perfect avenue for that. And I was reading, I think it was Ulta, you know, going back to the idea of, you know, how do beauty brands win in this, uh, in this environment. And Ulta partnered with PacSun, but that particular product will be available, not exclusively, but on TikTok Shop in addition to being sold in store and online.

Rachel Wolff: So again, just broadening those channels and making sure that you're present where this discovery is happening, but also when they go into the store.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I love that. Meet the shoppers where they are. And it, and some of these, yes, you need to think about it six months in advance, but some of these things you can just shift some of your dollars now and move some of your inventory around so that you can capture the consumer where they are.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Okay, so now that we've talked about some of the playbooks, let's get really tactical. Let's talk about some of the opportunities that are in season. I'm gonna give you some classic tactics, and I want you to tell me if you would double down, cut them altogether, or if you would just adjust them since we're in the middle of the season right now.

Suzy Davidkhanian: The first one is BOGO, buy one, get one promotions, student discounts, anything that screams value. I mean, there's some very specific to back to school. What do you do, Arielle? Do you cut it? Do you keep it and double down, or do you adjust to some other sort of messaging?

Arielle Feger: So, uh, I'm like kind of in between like double down, adjust a little bit.

Arielle Feger: Um, I think, uh, a- again, anything that is gonna promote value is, is gonna be, you know, helpful. I, uh, am really like pro bundles. Um, I think that could be really interesting 'cause maybe you don't need two exact sets of the same thing, but you need multiple different things within a single brand like Crayola or, you know, whatever.

Arielle Feger: So I think that could be really interesting. I also think it could be cool to like have some cross age BOGOs, you know, some different schools. Obviously, I, I saw some data from Optimove that was, you know, nearly half of respondents are shopping for back to school supplies for like two children. Um, and a lot of times those children aren't necessarily in the same grade or even, you know, kind of category of school, high school, middle school, you know, et cetera.

Arielle Feger: So I think that would be cool to kind of create some more opportunity within those things.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Rachel, what do you think?

Rachel Wolff: Yeah, I'm kind of in the same camp as Ariel where I think, you know, these promotions are important, but how you get them across is, has to be adjusted a little bit. Especially because I feel like it's just been a, like one long stream of promotions, right?

Rachel Wolff: We just had Prime Day and now you're heading into back to school and people are being faced with so many different types of discounts. So I think having maybe a simplified promotional strategy instead of like having all of these different tactics and all these different BOGOs and discounts and, you know, coupons and that sort of thing, and just keeping it easy for consumers to understand, uh, would go a long way.

Suzy Davidkhanian: But we agree value matters. Yeah. And so s- figuring out the right way to position value, and that's something you can switch pretty easily in season. My next question is more on the merchandising side. Often retailers have this like one-stop shopping experience where they have hero displays, these like complete the list little posters, these like check marks to try and really make it easier.

Suzy Davidkhanian: What do you think, Rachel? Double down, cut them out completely, or just adjust them a little?

Rachel Wolff: I was leaning more on the lines of cut them out. I mean, I can understand once the shopper is in the store why you might wanna guide them in that particular way. But I think in terms of messaging, right, like, and as far as one-stop shopping goes, it's really companies like Amazon and Walmart that own that one-stop shop experience.

Rachel Wolff: So, you know, maybe you wanna find a different way of framing yourself to differentiate yourself. And, you know, keep consumers from remembering that you can get something in 30 minutes maybe from Amazon as opposed to going to your store.

Suzy Davidkhanian: So interesting. Arielle, what do you think? Anything-

Arielle Feger: Yeah ... different to add?

Arielle Feger: I'm on

Suzy Davidkhanian: the,

Arielle Feger: yeah, I'm on the opposite side of this. I am doubling down. Me too. Um, as I said, uh, I am a one-stop shop fan. Um, I love when I can just grab things from the shelf and say, "Okay, I'm done, done, done, done, done." Um, I think, you know, Rachel definitely brings up a really good point that, like, Amazon and Walmart definitely own that you can buy everything you need.

Arielle Feger: But in store, you know, Walmart obviously has physical stores, Amazon doesn't really, um, I think in store is really still very powerful. And to be able to just make it, again, easy, where you can just check a whole thing off your list of, "Okay, we got it all, and I didn't have to go searching around the entire store," I think that can be really useful.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Also, it could be, like, the first day of school outfit, where it's all merchandise- Mm-hmm ... together, sort of like a Primark versus... So not always just about school supplies. Yeah. Tell me what you guys think about the messaging around being dorm ready. So it's, it's a different version of bundles and pop-ups and move in and, like, make friends look cool kind of messaging.

Arielle Feger: I like it. Yeah, I, I think it's cool. I, I especially love kind of the more pop-upy things. Um, I think, um, you know, as, as kids get older, they're forming more of their brand affinities. They have more particular, um, interests. And I think, um, you know, w- a brand kind of working on a pop-up to, you know, kind of appeal to those interests is really smart.

Arielle Feger: Um, and I think any, you know, again, partnering with colleges, again, you know, um, being able for, you know, once, um, the kids move in, to still be able to, you know, buy the things that they wanna buy or discover new things, um, I think it's smart.

Rachel Wolff: Yeah, I agree. I think, I don't have our forecast in front of us, but I think we do project that college back-to-school spending is gonna grow faster than K to 12, which I think speaks to the fact that, you know, getting your dorm room ready has become such a big part of the college experience.

Rachel Wolff: And so if you as a brand can get in on that early enough, then as Arielle said, you have that ability to build long-term loyalty, and I think that is really important. So I would say double down on that.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Cool. I'm gonna ask you one more. All these other tactics, I mean, it's a different word, get ready for dorms, but it's still about value and removing friction.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Tell me what you guys think about tax-free weekends. So most of those we've already missed, but they are a back-to-school staple. What do you do? Do you keep doing that for next year?

Rachel Wolff: I think absolutely. Um, another stat that I came across from Deloitte was that about 31% of parents, you know, are, define themselves or are hyper value seekers, which means that they look for, they have like four or more different tactics for saving money.

Rachel Wolff: But among those hyper value seekers, they plan to spend 14% more, right? So if you really double down on that value messaging, lean on, you know, tax-free holidays and opportunities that make it seem like people can save money, you could actually end up earning more sales than you initially anticipated

Arielle Feger: I agree.

Arielle Feger: Um, and I also think this is a really, um, interesting opportunity for, um, marketing departments, you know, being able to hyper localize the messaging to the states that are, you know, doing the tax-free holidays. I think that there's a lot of opportunity to really highlight that. I mean, I'm sure most families already are aware of them, but I still think that there's an opportunity to really show, you know, here's, here's what we have, here's when it is, and, you know, here's the value you get out of it.

Rachel Wolff: Yeah, and I think the closer that you get to the actual start of the school year, I feel like in a way, the less organized parents get, right? And so if you can get in front of them with that messaging and say, "Look, this day. Do all your shopping on this day," I feel like that could be really impactful.

Suzy Davidkhanian: And it does create a sense of urgency.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Yep. Really quick, if you're the CMO of a classic back to school brand, what's the one move you're making in the next couple of weeks to make the most of what's left in the season? In one minute or less, what's your move, Rachel?

Rachel Wolff: So my move is to, uh, run campaigns on on-demand delivery platforms like Instacart, DoorDash, or Uber because again, you know, if you're really crunched for time, if you don't have the bandwidth to run to the store, then these platforms are there for you.

Rachel Wolff: They can get things to your door in 30 minutes or less in many cases.

Suzy Davidkhanian: I love that. Arielle?

Arielle Feger: Um, I'm gonna say get on Reddit. Um, I think Reddit has been, um, a really valuable tool for consumers who are comparing products, researching products. And I think, you know, obviously these brands have high brand awareness, but maybe when you get down into the, the more comparative, um, thing, you might be losing some customers.

Arielle Feger: So there might be some opportunities, um, as consumers are trying to make decisions on, on what, which brands to buy and what products.

Suzy Davidkhanian: That's all the time we have for today. We ju- like, there's so much to talk about. The shopping journeys are changing. The season is changing. There's so many new tactics. Um, but unfortunately we have to end here.

Suzy Davidkhanian: But one thing we can all agree on is that really there are different things you can do in season to try and impact your sales. Thanks so much, Arielle.

Arielle Feger: Thank you for having me.

Suzy Davidkhanian: And thanks, Rachel.

Rachel Wolff: Thank you. I'm already planning my first day outfit.

Suzy Davidkhanian: Oh my God, I love it. First day outfit for back to the office.

Suzy Davidkhanian: For

Rachel Wolff: Monday. If I'm gonna be

Suzy Davidkhanian: honest. And thank you to our listeners and to our team that edits the podcast. Please leave a rating or review, and remember to subscribe. I'll see you for more Reimagining Retail next Wednesday. And on Friday, join Marcus for another episode of Behind the Numbers, an eMarketer podcast made possible by AWIN.