5 Successful Ecommerce Strategies and Back-to-School Marketing Ideas

As summer winds down, many retailers look toward Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the impending winter shopping season. But there’s still one major shopping event standing in the way of you and your Christmas profits — back-to-school. 

This annual event isn’t just about new backpacks and pencils. It’s a golden opportunity for retailers to tailor their ecommerce strategies to boost profits and capture market share during the typically sluggish summer months.

Why The Back-to-School Shopping Season Is a Great Opportunity For Retailers

The back-to-school shopping season is a retail goldmine — second only to the winter holidays in consumer spending. The National Retail Federation (NRF) says back-to-school shopping is projected to reach $38.8 billion. 

This annual ritual allows retailers to increase their market share and boost profits during an otherwise slow summer period.

Smart retailers capitalize on this trend by creating engaging shopping experiences, like Walmart’s dorm room essentials page. And, with nearly 22% of parents planning to spend more on back-to-school shopping this year, according to JLL, it’s a prime opportunity for retailers to showcase new products, offer attractive promotions, and forge lasting customer relationships that extend well beyond September.  

Consumer Behaviors and Trends to Be Aware of During This Season

According to the NRF, 55% of back-to-school and college shoppers begin their shopping journey as early as July, with 85% of shoppers taking advantage of Amazon Prime Day. 

But what are people buying? The NRF highlights four core sectors for K-12 shoppers. They’re budgeting an average of $253.29 for clothing and accessories, $170.43 for shoes, $141.62 for school supplies, and $309.35 for electronics. 

College students are preparing to spend around $1,354.75 on items for the impending school year, with an average of $359.49 allocated for electronics, $192.40 for dorm or apartment furnishings, and $171.06 for clothing and accessories, 

But here’s the interesting part. Sixty-eight percent of back-to-school shoppers this year say they’ll plan their purchases around retailer sale events — the highest percentage of any year (NRF).  

Here’s what we can extract from this: 

• Shoppers start looking for back-to-school purchases as early as June. Retailers need to be set up well in advance. 
• Shoppers are predominantly buying clothes, shoes, and electronics. Put these front and center, or add new product lines to meet these needs.
• Shoppers prefer to buy back-to-school products as part of a sale. Retailers should run promotions to entice these seasonal, discount-hungry shoppers. 

How to Optimize Your Online Presence During the Back-to-School Season 

Retailers should treat the back-to-school season like any other busy shopping season. This means adapting your online presence and website to make sure you’re attracting and converting this type of shopper. 

The easiest way to do this is to revamp your website. Add a dedicated back-to-school section that features curated product collections and easy navigation. This page can act as a standalone landing page that links to your core back-to-school product categories. For best results, put your best-selling products front and center. 

You can also change the wording in your product descriptions to match the search intent of back-to-school shoppers. For example, you might add “for students” as a qualifier to your existing products or add relevant keywords to product titles. A bamboo water bottle might become a “bamboo back-to-school water bottle.”

Take a look at the bottle brand HYPE, which has created a dedicated category page for back-to-school bottles. 

Image Source: HYPE

5 Promotional Ecommerce Strategies To Win Over Back-to-School Shoppers 

Once your website is set up to attract back-to-school shoppers, you can start experimenting with strategies to convert them. Remember, this is a great opportunity to win over new shoppers during a busy shopping period. You can then nurture them with additional content and offers to keep them coming back for more.

Here are some back-to-school marketing ideas to try.

1. Use Social Media

Social media marketing is the ideal way to reach new audiences during busy shopping seasons. Leverage your existing platforms to: 

• Showcase trendy items and create a buzz with user-generated content (UGC) campaigns that encourage students to share their back-to-school looks. 
• Collaborate with influencers and student ambassadors to share your products in authentic, relatable ways. 
• Use platforms like TikTok and Instagram to host virtual fashion shows or unboxing events. 
• Take advantage of shoppable posts and stories to reduce friction between inspiration and purchase. 
• Engage parents with helpful content like lunch-packing hacks or morning routine tips that subtly feature your products. 
• Run targeted social media ads using interest-based and demographic filters to reach your ideal customers. 

Image Source: Nom Nom Kids

Nom Nom Kids ran a back-to-school giveaway on social media. 

2. Implement a Mobile-First Strategy

According to Capital One, 65% of back-to-school consumers shop from a smartphone. 

Start by optimizing your website for mobile devices so load times are fast and people can navigate easily on a smaller screen. You can take it one step further and develop a user-friendly mobile app that offers exclusive deals and personalized recommendations based on past purchases. Or, simply implement a mobile wallet integration for seamless checkout and fewer abandoned carts. 

3. Personalize the Shopping Experience

Using data to deliver tailored experiences to each back-to-school shopper will increase customer satisfaction levels and conversions. 

Here’s how to do it: 

• Use artificial intelligence (AI)-powered recommendations based on grade level, interests, and past purchases to ensure shoppers are only seeing products they’re interested in. 
• Use an on-site chatbot to offer personalized shopping assistance. 
• Implement dynamic pricing to offer customized discounts on frequently bought items or “complete-the-look” bundles. 
• Create an interactive online quiz that guides shoppers to the perfect school supplies based on their learning style or interests.
• Offer personalized back-to-school lookbooks or supply lists that account for individual school requirements and personal preferences. 
• Launch a loyalty program that tracks purchases and rewards repeat customers with exclusive offers or early access to new products. 

Image Source: Ooly

Ooly bundles together items that are often bought together. 

4. Create a Sense of Urgency

Implementing limited-time offers and creating a sense of urgency can prevent procrastination among shoppers — particularly during a time-sensitive shopping season. 

Here’s how to effectively create a sense of urgency: 

• Implement limited-time flash sales, strategically timing them for peak shopping periods like evenings and weekends. 
• Use countdown timers on your website and in email campaigns to highlight when deals will expire. 
• Take advantage of ecommerce digital marketing tactics like scarcity by showcasing “limited stock” or “selling fast” labels on popular items. 
• Create bundle deals with tiered discounts that increase with the number of items purchased — but only for a set time. 
• Launch a “daily deal” feature, offering steep discounts on different items each day of the back-to-school season. 
• Implement dynamic pricing that gradually increases as the first day of school approaches. 

Image Source: WH Smith

WH Smith runs a special sale for students if they use a specific discount code. 

5. Offer Coupons and Discounts

Thirty-two percent of shoppers purchase back-to-school items with coupons, according to Capital One. Encourage more purchases by offering time-limited discounts or coupons for first-time buyers: 

• Offer bundle discounts on essential school supplies. 
• Create loyalty program exclusives, giving members early access to deals or bonus discounts. 
• Use retargeting to send personalized coupons based on browsing history to recapture potential lost sales. 
• Partner with schools to offer exclusive discounts to their students. 
• Gamify the shopping experience with scratch-off digital coupons or spin-to-win discounts. 
• Don’t forget the power of the classic buy one, get one free (BOGO) deal on high-demand items like notebooks and pens. 

Back-to-School Marketing Ideas To Prepare for the Shopping Season

As the school bell rings, savvy retailers are gearing up for a season of opportunity. The back-to-school shopping frenzy is the perfect chance to capture market share, boost profits, and prepare for an even busier holiday season. 

By implementing these five ecommerce marketing strategies—leveraging social media, adopting a mobile-first approach, personalizing the shopping experience, creating urgency, and offering strategic discounts—retailers can position themselves at the head of the class.

Remember, this isn't just about a single season. The connections you make during this back-to-school rush can transform into year-round loyalty. As you fine-tune your approach, keep in mind that today's tech-savvy students are tomorrow's lifelong customers. So, sharpen your digital pencils, polish your virtual apples, and get ready to ace the back-to-school season. After all, in the world of retail, school is always in session.