Deloitte: Back-to-School Shoppers Ready to Spend

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Shoppers are reverting to more traditional information sources to study up before heading to the store, according to Deloitte’s annual “Back-to-School” survey, released recently.  Despite these intentions, few intend to forego the tradition of setting a budget or looking for a sale. Nearly 6 in 10 (59 percent) consumers have a budget in mind for back-to-school shopping, and while two-thirds (66 percent) say they will shop for items on sale, fewer respondents feel stores are offering them more value for their money (36 percent in 2012 versus 47 percent in 2011).

Deloitte’s survey shows that traditional media and word of mouth will serve as the strongest influences over what consumers plan to buy this year.

Television ranks as the No.1 source for parents to hear about the items they intend to purchase, cited by 41 percent of respondents, followed by family members (37 percent), newspapers (37 percent) and friends (36 percent).  Among factors influencing children’s purchases, 59 percent of parents claim friends to be the top source of information, followed by television (41 percent).

The survey shows that smartphones and online channels will guide bargain-hungry shoppers again this year. More than 4 in 10 (43 percent) smartphone owners indicate they use their devices at least half the time for back-to-school shopping. Price-checking tops shoppers’ lists, cited by 62 percent of smartphone owners who will use their devices for back-to-school shopping. Nearly half (45 percent) of those smartphone shoppers will download discounts, coupons and sale information.

Alison Paul, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and retail & distribution sector leader.

“Consumers’ price sensitivity and bargain habits have been hard to break,” she said . “Retailers will likely have to give consumers a good reason to fill the baskets in their stores, such as promotions that incentivize volume purchases or return trips. Retailers may need to quickly analyze their customer data and traffic to identify, replenish and market the popular items that can keep the momentum up throughout the season.”