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BACK-TO-SCHOOL 2018
RETAIL SCENARIO, FASHION TRENDS & CONSUMER SPENDING
Apart from bidding adieu to lazy vacation days and the peak of Summer, what defines the month of August is a huge market audience of parents and their kids, eagerly looking towards the onset of yet another term … and scouting stores – both online and offline – to make for the perfect Back-to-School wardrobe. Back-to-School and Back-to-College are massive opportunity areas in the retailscape wherein retailers and brands can expect to observe prodigious sales by applying their trend expertise. It is the busiest shopping season followed closely by the Winter holidays, and can contribute a third of profits for retailers. It is imperative to mention here that, BTS consumers spend more during this season than the combined spend witnessed on Mother’ s Day, Father’ s Day and Valentine’ s Day. Spending is expected to reach US $ 82.8 billion in the US alone this year, with households planning to spend more than double in-store as compared to online. The claims for average spend this year varies from source to source, including National Retail Federation, which states the average household spend to be US $ 942; and Deloitte, which forecasts it to be US $ 685 on everything from clothes, to electronics, to school supplies to dorm furnishings.
TREND TRIVIA
The’ 90s are back – big retailers, such as Urban Outfitters Inc, American Eagle Outfitters Inc, etc. are betting on nostalgic references and filling stores with fanny packs, chunky-soled sneakers and high-waisted‘ mom jeans’ to tap onto Back-to-School sales.
With Back-to-School spending expected to rise this year, owing to a strong economy and higher consumer confidence, retailers are hoping that the resurrection of’ 90s fashion will fuel a recovery in the sector after facing a period of declining sales through several quarters.
It is worth mentioning here that established athletic brands such as Nike and Adidas have boomed with the popularity of this trend – their logos alone posing as fashion statements. Specialists are up, like Nike which is up by 22 %, Joules which is up by 49 % and Petit Bateau which is up by 123 % from BTS 2017.
According to Edited, footwear is raising its Back-to-School profile, with 17 % more product in stock and prices up by 14 % on shoes and 19 % on sneakers. The estimated per-shopper spend is up 7 % year-on-year, as per data shared by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
Sneakers have emerged as a popular item over the past few years and the trend shows no sign of diminishing owing to the sustained popularity of athleisure and the growing hype surrounding streetwear trends.
School uniforms are also a growing market as more and more schools require students to wear uniforms. In lieu of this, an increasing number of retailers are looking at this assortment more carefully including Amazon, Walmart and Target.
According to Prosper, the percentage of children wearing uniforms to school is up 1.1 percentage points over last year’ s 26.1 %. This marks the second-highest report in the survey’ s history( 2015 was the highest, at 28.1 %).
RETAIL SCENARIO
The success of the BTS and BTC categories is based on pleasing not one, but two consumers
“ Every 20 years fashion comes back … You stay away from something long enough and you crave it.” – Vanessa Valiente, personal stylist and the creator of fashion blog V-Style
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Spending is expected to reach US $ 82.8 billion in the US alone this year, with households planning to spend more than double in-store compared to online.
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School uniforms are a growing market and an increasing number of retailers including Amazon, Target and Walmart are featuring such assortments.
32 Apparel Online India | SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2018 | www. apparelresources. com