How businesses can prepare for

back-to-school season

Make the most of the profitable back to school season

As the long summer break comes to a close and we look forward to the final bank holiday weekend of the year, our thoughts turn to getting back to ‘business as usual’.

The back-to-school season is one of the most lucrative periods for the retail sector. In fact, Mintel estimates consumer spending on back-to-school items surpassed £1335 million in 2023!

This is great news for small business owners, as using strategic marketing campaigns you can offer back to school bundles at reduced prices for the first day frenzy.

Essential school supplies bundles

School bag basics: have a supplies kit bundle including essentials such as a bag pack, notebooks, pencils and a school lunch box. Theme the bundles into the latest trending TV characters for primary school children and neutral sets for older students. Parents will thank you for including everything they need for day one!

If you are a bookseller, ask a local school for their reading lists so that you can stock up and sort your book range by age and genre.

Haircut packages

Class hair cut photo? We all have one somewhere at home! Family friendly salons and barber shops could also look to bundle a back-to-school package. Maybe a haircut, style and shave (older students) that includes a free product such as a comb or brush.

As you plan these promotions, ensure your business is protected with business insurance designed for salons and barbershops.

Early morning combos at Cafés

Why not take advantage of the school run and open up that bit earlier for a breakfast combo for the parents? You could also offer a takeout version to cater for the afterschool snack time rush. Include healthy snacks, a drink, a notebook, pen or colouring book and crayons.

Include a loyalty card for parents and reward them with a free coffee and cake to enjoy after the school run.

Attracting new customers with community events

If this is your first ‘back to school’ trading period then either hosting a community event or competition can help you to increase footfall and is a great way to get free publicity. It is also a quick way to build brand awareness and collate customer information that will help shape future campaigns. You will also have a database of names, numbers and email addresses as ‘opt-ins’ to receive news from your business.

Engaging social media campaigns

Social media is the obvious free platform for running an online event or contest. Here’s three online ideas that you can tailor to your small business:

1) Retailers: Ask followers to nominate their favourite teacher and like and share their post for the teacher with the most mentions to be in with a chance of winning a gift voucher for their school.

2) Hairdressers: Bad hair day? Get people to share the worst or most embarrassing school photo of themselves with a dodgy haircut, with a prize draw for the winner to receive a free haircut.

3) Cafés: Get the kids to draw a picture of their favourite lunchbox items or the perfect lunchbox and pin them up on a board. Pick a handful of the designs and ‘name’ a lunchbox after them including the items they have drawn. E.g. Polly’s Packed Lunch or Sam’s Snackbox. This is also a great campaign to generate your own content and even get the local newspaper involved.

Offering flexible payment options

The Mintel research suggests that value for money is still high on the agenda, brands in the back-to-school retail market need to be active in communicating to parents not just the lowest base price but also alternative ways to save. For example, introducing buy-now-pay-later options provide flexibility to parents and help them spread costs. Plus, using up-to-date card terminals can make these payment options easier for customers to use.