It may seem like summer has just begun, but the start of school is just around the corner. For many retailers, the Back-to-School (BTS) shopping season started months ago – and if you’re a parent or student, you have probably already stocked up on BTS essentials.
Like all seasonal shopping events, Back-to-School is a highly important and competitive time for many retailers and brands. And just like peak trading, BTS shopping is starting earlier and lasting longer every year.
At the same time, it is getting more expensive to attract customers and more challenging to keep them engaged and turn them into customers. Needless to say, shopping events like BTS require early planning and strategies to optimise eCommerce conversions.
Back-to-school and peak shopping events are starting earlier and lasting longer
Many shoppers start shopping earlier to seek out greater value and better deals – especially during uncertain economic and geopolitical times. Amazon Prime Day and competing sales in early July prompted many parents globally to shop ahead of time, with 67% of shoppers already buying school supplies in early July in the US. Data from Google showed that worldwide interest in “school supplies” started even earlier – accelerating in May compared to last year’s spike that happened later in June.
Golden Quarter also starts earlier and lasts longer, forcing retailers and brands to kick off peak planning sooner each year. Generally, retailers like the trend toward earlier seasonal shopping because it generates sales earlier in the year and it opens opportunities for additional sales as the season progresses.
Uncertainty drives budget-conscious and deal-seeking shoppers
With continued concerns about the global economy, many shoppers are worried about, and preparing for, rising prices. As a result they are being more strategic about how to find the buys.They are actively seeking early deals and also looking for ways to maximise spend.
In the UK, Goggle search interest for topics like “thrifting” indicates that back-to-school shoppers are increasingly looking to buy upcycled or refurbished school supplies. This trend is supported by data that shows that 71% of back-to-school shoppers globally prioritized eco-friendly products, 40% opting for second-hand clothing and a rising share buying used electronics and supplies.
While there is cautious optimism heading into the 2025 peak trading and Christmas season, concerns about inflation and the cost of living continue to weigh on UK household budgets in general. Early shopping and maximising budgets through deal-hunting will likely continue spending and deal-seeking will likely continue into the Golden Quarter.
Strategies for optimising conversions during peak shopping events
In uncertain times like these, it is critical to remain agile and be prepared to respond quickly to shifting consumer and market demands. Transparency and clear communication is key to building strong customer relationships.
Brands and retailers that focus on engaging shoppers with dynamic experiences and concise messaging, while helping shoppers make more informed and confident purchase decisions, are better positioned to survive, and thrive, in today’s retail reality.
Answer their questions before they ask them
During seasonal shopping events like BTS, shoppers are often buying for someone else and looking for answers to specific questions to help them make better purchase decisions.
It’s not easy to find and select the right items for others, especially if time-strapped, budget-conscious and shopping online without a store assistant to readily ask for help. Anticipating and answering relevant questions before they are asked through AI-powered Conversion Messaging, including Social Proof, Attribute Messaging and Dynamic Badging, will significantly improve the customer experience.
Information related to quality, value, fit and popularity should be easy to find, but too often key product details are not available or hidden below the fold, making it hard for shoppers to make informed, fast and confident purchase decisions.
Taggstar’s AI-powered Conversion Messaging platform dynamically highlights important product information and social proof that captures shoppers’ attention the moment they land on your site. Through real-time messaging, you’ll be able to proactively answer their questions, leading to more engaging shopping experiences, higher conversions and lower return rates.
Target deal-seekers with dynamic and clear messaging
Retailers can help deal-seeking shoppers find products faster with easy-to-find information highlighting sales, discounts and price drops. With eye-catching Dynamic Badging on product list pages and product detail pages, retailers immediately capture the attention of busy shoppers, reducing hesitation and increasing conversions. Taggstar’s Dynamic Badging uses defined merchandising filters to create rules to automatically display badges, reducing manual processes and increasing efficiency.
Capture shopper attention immediately with key product information upfront
More and more shoppers are landing directly on PDPs via search and social media. You have mere seconds to capture their attention. According to a recent study, 47% of visitors bounce if they don’t immediately see key product information, and 40% only view the top half of the page. You need to catch their attention the moment they land on your site, and guide them toward conversion with the right info at the right time.
When shopping for seasonal events like BTS, consumers often look for specific product attributes such as durability or sustainability. This relevant information should be easy to find.
Taggstar’s Attribute Messaging is designed to highlight essential product attributes, like sustainability information, directly within the shopping experience, above the fold. Powered by AI, Attribute Messaging automatically extracts key product attributes that shoppers look for and displays them in visually engaging messaging throughout the eCommerce experience.
By combining Attribute Messaging with Social Proof Messaging, the outcome is even more powerful. The relevance of product attributes and the power of social proof immediately draws shopper attention, improves trust and increases conversions.
Build shopper confidence with social proof
Consumers are strongly influenced by the actions of others, and knowing what other people are looking at or buying, at any given moment, is extremely powerful. Tapping into the “wisdom of the crowd”, retailers and brands can encourage customers to discover products and buy with greater confidence. This is especially true in eCommerce where shoppers cannot easily ask a store assistant what the best-selling coffee maker is or the most popular cashmere sweater based on fit reviews.
By anonymously aggregating other customers’ online behaviour, social proof messaging allows retailers to share with shoppers what others like them are buying, what is trending, and what is selling fast. These messages give shoppers the context and confidence to buy, knowing that they are making the best purchase decisions.
Social Proof Messaging surfaces items that are viewed most and selling fast, with real-time, quantified data, providing shoppers with a quick and easy way to pinpoint the most popular products within a category and subcategories.
By integrating social proof with aggregated review messaging you can highlight important information like fit and reviews that shoppers typically look for when shopping during high-stake peak seasons. Messages can include fit advice, such as 87% say size runs large or impressions of quality, like 90% of shoppers rate this 4 stars for quality.
The value of conversion messaging throughout peak shopping journeys
Social Proof, Attribute Messaging and Dynamic Badging have different roles throughout back-to-school and other peak shopping experiences. The combination of relevant messages, delivered at the right time and customised to your brand’s look and feel, can significantly impact your sales results during any peak season.
These solutions can be implemented in just a few weeks and yield immediate results. By aggregating and analysing real-time purchase trends and the behaviours of other shoppers, our proven AI-powered platform delivers relevant messaging that makes back-to-school and other peak shopping events less nerve-wracking for consumers and more profitable for you.
Whether targeting budget-conscious shoppers or those that prioritise sustainability, any kind of peak shopping is never easy, but with conversion messaging, you can help your customers shop with confidence – increasing conversions, reducing returns and boosting revenue.
Contact us today to learn how retailers like The Very Group and Debenhams optimise eCommerce conversions during seasonal shopping events like Back-to-School.
