Back-to-School Biz Basics

Many of us have yet to gnaw an ear from this year’s corn crop or break out our bathing suits. But in the retail world, it’s September in July. National merchants used to wait until August to toll the school bells. This year, sales fliers and Web sites already tout backpacks, notebooks and dormitory décor.

And no wonder. Aside from a chance to rebound from dismal year-to-date sales, which continued to slide in June with a 5.1 percent drop compared to 2008, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, back-to-school merchandising is the second-largest piece of the annual purchasing pie, according to this research data from the National Retail Federation.(And by the way, if you haven’t signed up for news feeds from the ICSC and the NRF, I recommend it. And while you’re at it, follow BigResearch on Twitter for a steady stream of consumer behavior updates. )

Outfitting the nation’s 76 million students with everything from books to backpacks to BlackBerries is a $51 billion business – bigger than Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Halloween and Father’s Day combined. The only more crucial period for stores is our annual $445 billion “winter holiday” spree. And where back-to-school once meant a new pencil box and shiny shoes, all sorts of retail chains are in on the act now. And their marketing methods are more interactive, aggressive and innovative than ever, which is a story angle in itself.

Staples, the office-supply purveyor, has declared July 15 the “official” kick-off to school shopping complete with a list of must-have items. Bed, Bath & Beyond’s home page is devoted to dormitory chic, along with a MasterCard-sponsored $55,000 scholarship sweepstakes. The housewares retailer is actually soliciting dorm-room inventions from students via edisonnation.com and charging a $25 fee for entries!

TAF, formerly the Athlete’s Foot shoe store, already is offering a free sports bag with $50 purchase. And Office Depot is aiming a special merchandising effort at teachers, with its Star Teacher discount program and teacher-appreciation breakfasts at selected stores in July and August.

Previously, Wal-Mart has tried a Facebook page aimed at college-bound pupils, so keep an eye on social media sites for more offbeat marketing approaches. And read the next few weekends’ sales circulars thoroughly; they’re great source of trend and “what’s hot” stories.

By the way, if you’re wondering where I got that 76-million-student statistic above – the U.S. Census Bureau publishes intriguing fact sheets on a variety of events including this one on back-to-school shopping. It features factoids ranging from enrollment in various demographics to the number of stores in categories ranging from kids’ clothing to books. All are helpful tidbits that add texture and interest to your seasonal stories.

We’ll revisit back-to-school shopping between now and Labor Day, but make sure you don’t wait until summer’s end to add this all-important consumer-spending season to your radar screen.

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