Back-to-School Shoppers Go Offline, Back to the Store
Alas a portion of our childhood still remains. A JLL poll of more than 2,000 shoppers nationwide reveals that of the 65% embarking on back-to-school shopping next week, 88% will be purchasing their merchandise at brick-and-mortar stores. JLL director of retail leasing Holly Rome says back-to-school buyers prefer high-quality, low-priced goods. They also want a one stop-shop to check off all the items on their lists. Because of this, department stores are king, with Walmart, Target, and Macy's leading the pack as the top three preferred destinations. Here's a look at some more numbers to show you what really matters to buyers in the second most important retail season, behind the holidays:
- 90% of customers plan to spend up to $500 on back-to-school shopping.
- 82% plan to shop in up to five stores.
- More than 90% will buy apparel at major department stores.
- One third said they don't plan on buying back-to-school clothes online.
- 45% have no plans for buying school supplies online.
- 98% plan to buy school supplies at supercenters.
- 70% ranked low prices as the first or second priority.
- 46% ranked quality as the first or second priority.
- Customer service and convenience were ranked as the least important factor in back-to-school shopping.
[JLL]