Urban Outfitters and Pacsun are tapping into Pinterest and in-person experiences to get students and families shopping, while Meijer, Walmart, and Target are focused on value. Those are just a few brands that made our Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers List, Back-to-School Edition, for July 2024.
Urban Outfitters' “Shift Happens” back-to-school campaign includes a partnership with Pinterest influencers, a two-day in-person marketing experience at The Chelsea Factory in New York City, and 20 pop-up “Campus Essentials” retail destinations in key college markets.
The campaign’s holistic, authentic feeling resonates with Urban Outfitters’ Gen Z and Gen Alpha audience, our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian said on an episode of the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast. “I think they are figuring they can't play in the value proposition space, so they're trying to be cool.”
To connect with budget-conscious back-to-school shoppers, the midwestern retailer introduced six new private label school supply products like markers, and crayons, ranging in price from 25 cents to $1.
“I think it's wise to launch a store brand at a time when people are so focused on value,” said our analyst Sara Lebow.
Parents are likely back-to-school shopping at Walmart, said our analyst Arielle Feger. To move beyond the classroom into the cafeteria, Walmart introduced a one-click food basket where, with one click, families can purchase supplies such as peanut butter, bread, and juice boxes to make two weeks’ worth of lunches for about $2 a day.
Target is offering back-to-school discounts and deals to teachers and students who join its Target Circle loyalty program. It’s also promoting a list of 20 must-haves like glue sticks, composition notebooks, and colored pencils for under $20 total, a $5 backpack, and a “School List Assist,” where families can easily order items from their child’s class supply list.
“Backpacks are probably the biggest SKU-level volume driver, and the fact that they're doing it at $5 plus all these other random things to drive people in and push their private label is really genius,” said Davidkhanian.
Like Urban Outfitters, Pacsun is using a multichannel approach to speak directly to Gen Z teens. The “Better in Baggy” campaign, highlighting the embellished loose-fit denim trend, also features in-store experiences and Pinterest partnerships with Pacsun Collective creators.
The department store chain caught the attention of kids and nostalgic parents by launching new Limited Too collections in July. The brand, an offshoot of The Limited, has been off the market for more than a decade.
Thanks to Prime Day, average daily sales of backpacks, stationery, and school supplies on Amazon were up 216% in July compared with June, and sales of kids' apparel spiked 165%. Amazon’s campaign encouraging parents to spend less on their kids was also an A+ move in a season where people are really prioritizing value.
“I love the ‘spend less on your freeloaders’ commercial,” said Davidkhanian. “They're looking at the entirety of back-to-school…grade school, high school, back to college. They’re doing a great job trying to get everybody under the sun with this value messaging.”
Period products aren’t a traditional item on the back-to-school list, but they’re an essential need and school supply. Pinkie, a teen-focused period products brand designed by moms for young women, expanded to 3,300 CVS locations.
“It's definitely something that people need year-round, but back to school is sometimes where people stock up,” said Feger.
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