Stock up on those back-to-school staples

As the back-to-school shopping season gets underway, NR studies the must-have items and lunchbox essentials you need to stock up on.

It may be summer and schools have closed for the holiday season, but for many parents it will soon be time to plan ahead for the back to school shopping list, in a bid to get ahead of the crowd in getting sorted for September.

This is a key business period for retailers, following closely behind Christmas and Easter as one of the busiest times of the year for those in the industry.

From freshly sharpened pencils, notepads, calculators and lunchbox essentials to those all-important breakfast and snack ideas, it’s vital that retailers have their shelves stocked up and eye-catching for consumers.

Many customers will be looking for ways to make savings this year, as the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household budgets. With the prices of almost everything remaining high, parents will be keen to spread out the cost of the back-to-school shop and will be keeping a keen eye on their seasonal shopping.

In many cases, parents will be shopping for more than one child, so will be focusing on multi-packs or bundle offers as they remain price conscious, and where relevant may be willing to avail of saving schemes. (According to Mintel’s 2022 research, 39% of parents have used a buy-now-pay-later scheme for purchasing back to school items, while 25% would be interested in using this type of payment option in the future.)

There have been significant cuts in the education budget and continued financial strain on schools, they are in turn are becoming more reliant on contributions from parents to support the purchase of some stationery essentials. Suffice to say that parents will inevitably be bulk buying items such as blue, black and red pens and pencils, rulers, sharpeners and notepads.

With this in mind, retailers can maximise sales by planning events and promotions centring on price sensitivities, encouraging customers to shop in their stores. Price discounts and other incentives will help ensure sales and attract the attention of parents.

It is not just parents however, that will be shopping for back-to-school essentials, as older students also play a pivotal role in the buying process, be it influencing their parents’ purchases or spending their own money, so it is worth remembering this when planning promotions or in-store displays.

Additionally, multi-platform promotion and engagement with younger consumers can go some way to increasing sales. Students will see much of what they want or need for school online, so highlighting offers and availability on social media platforms is a key way of helping both online and in-store sales.

As households across the country continue to grapple with prices, shoppers are looking to make cost-savings wherever they can. As a result, homemade lunchboxes will be the ‘go-to’ solution for many parents looking to save money this year.

Research[1] has shown that 72% of consumers believe that a home-made sandwich for lunch is unbeatable. With sandwiches often a core component of any lunchbox, stocking a range of quality wrapped bread should be a focus for any retailers looking to cater for the back-to-school occasion.

While many shoppers may be looking to save money, there is still a huge desire for quality bakery products from recognised brands that consumers know and trust.

Another focus for lunch boxes should be in brown/wholemeal bread, which is the third biggest type of pre-packaged bread, accounting for nearly 14%¹ of loaves sold in Great Britain.

The traditional sandwich remains a key part of any lunchbox so making sure there’s a good range of pre-packaged bread on offer that caters for different tastes available at all times is essential to cater for the back-to-school trend. Combined, white bread, brown/wholemeal and half and half bread account for over 75% of the pre-packaged loaves sold in Great Britain over the last year[2]. Whilst bread with seeds and grains accounts for 18% and are extremely popular, they have more of an adult consumer profile.

Alongside a range of pre-packaged bread, offering a selection of classic kids’ sandwich fillers, such as cheese and ham, as well as fruit, will help retailers ensure they’re well prepared to respond to rising demand ahead of the return to school.

Creating a back-to-school occasion display can really help to drive impact in store. For example, displaying a range of lunchbox essentials, such as pre-packaged bread, sandwich fillers and fruit, next to or close to each other and offering cross-category promotions can help to boost sales. Where running promotions, using PoS in store can also help build shopper awareness of the different offers available and encourage them to buy multiple items in one shop.

Confectionery is worth £5.5bn within the UK treating and snacking market, which itself is worth £13.3bn, reports Wholesale Manager magazine, making it a hugely important category to independent convenience retailers looking to drive sales, indeed 75% of recent treats and snacking growth has come from confectionery sales alone (Nielsen).

There are three subcategories within confectionery: chocolate, gum and fruity confectionery.

According to Kantar, there has been a dramatic 597% increase in the popularity of blonde chocolate in the past 18 months. 65% of gum purchases are made on impulse (Nielsen), making it critically important for retailers to make gum available and easily visible for every shopper and every trip. Fruity confections are growing at +17% year-on-year (Nielsen).

According to Clare Newton, Trade Marketing Manager at Swizzels, consumers demand class.

“Sugar confectionery is worth £1.6bn, growing at 16.2% (Circana), which is a figure bolstered by demand from consumers for classic favourites as well as new and innovative products. The continuation of the production of these innovative products and flavours, as well as the availability of gifting lines are expected to drive further demand in the near future.

“Sugar confectionery has had a great reputation as being one of the best performing categories within wholesale, as customers are likely to make impulse purchases, especially when related products are merchanised together and have a price mark clearly stated on the packaging.”

[1] Perspectus Global, May 2023

[2] NIQ Scantrack, total coverage, incl. discounters, unit sales pre-packaged bread loaves by dough type, MAT to 22/04/23

TO SEE THE FULL BACK TO SCHOOL FEATURE IN THE JUNE-JULY ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE