United Kingdom (UK) Back to School, 2022 Update

United Kingdom (UK) Back to School, 2022 Update

Summary

United Kingdom (UK) Back to School, 2022 Update report forms part of GlobalData's Retail Occasions series, and offers a comprehensive insight into the consumer dynamics and spending habits of UK consumers for back to school. The report analyses the major players, the main trends, and consumer attitudes.

The proportion of consumers who have spent more than last year on back to school items is up 2.1ppts on 2021. This was most likely driven by rising costs and the need to purchase essential items that children would have quickly outgrown. To account for increased spending, consumers used alternative payment methods to spread the cost, including using buy now, pay later options, which was up 5.0ppts on last year.

Scope

• High street channel usage for uniform and school accessories purchases was down on last year, while online channel usage for uniform, sportswear & sports equipment and books was up on last year likely due to the ability to check for the best offers at multiple retailers easily.
• Tesco has remained dominant across most categories in retailer ratings for back to school, with particularly strong performances in quality and interesting products.
• Value & discount store type usage was up on last year in all categories apart from school accessories. Consumers purchasing school books at a value/discount retailer was up 7.2ppts compared to 2022, while Poundland, B&M and Home Bargains were among the winners within the stationery category as retailer usage among these players increased on last year.

• Use our in-depth consumer insight to learn which back to school categories are shopped the most by consumers, to adapt back to school ranges to current trends.
• Understand what drives consumers to use a retailer for their purchases, such as convenience, value for money and delivery options, in order to maximise sales potential.
• Use our average spend data to understand how much consumers are prepared to pay in each back to school category and which categories consumers are most willing to invest in higher priced items.