Survey: Back-to-school shoppers taking their time

NEW YORK — With plenty of last year's supplies stowed in the closet and the option to restock at-will, back-to-school shoppers may be in no hurry to fill their shopping baskets by August.   



According to Deloitte's annual back-to-school and back-to-college surveys, 38% of surveyed parents shopping for children in grades K-12 said the back-to-school shopping season is less important to their families because they replenish school supplies throughout the year and feel less need to stock up.



Nearly one-third (31%) of respondents plan to complete their back-to-school shopping after the start of the school year, a five-percentage-point increase from 2014. Americans' spending for children in grades K-12 and college combined is expected to remain flat this season at $1,747, compared with $1,766 in 2014.



The number of consumers who plan to reuse last year's items has risen from 26% to 39% between 2011 and 2015. However, during that five-year period, coupon usage decreased 14 percentage points and intentions to buy more lower-priced items fell 11 percentage points.  



When shoppers reach the stores this back-to-school season, they'll likely be mission-driven, making many of their decisions using their digital devices before arriving in the store. In 2014, nearly half (49%) of every dollar spent on apparel in brick-and-mortar stores was digitally influenced, a number that jumped to 62 cents of every dollar in the electronics category.



Eighty percent of surveyed smartphone owners plan to use their devices in the back-to-school shopping process, a six-percentage point increase from 2014. Furthermore, among respondents, smartphone device ownership has more than doubled after climbing from 40% in 2011 to nearly 90% in 2015.



While 44% of respondents will visit a retailer's website and 42% will check out online product information, just 29% plan to use their phones to make a purchase. Although mobile payment apps and digital wallets are nascent technologies, already 7% plan to use them for back-to-school shopping this year.



However, awareness remains low for in-store beacon technology. Among back-to-school shoppers surveyed, more than half (51%) are unfamiliar with in-store beacon technology and another one-third (32%) do not plan to use it.



At 44% usage, online shopping site are ranked second behind discount/value department stores (86%) for back-to-school destinations. Fifty-five percent of parents shopping for children in grades K-12 also say they will research online first before making a purchase in a store. However, social media may be taking a back seat to other sources of information. Only 10% of respondents say they rely on social media for back-to-school shopping, down from 18% last year and 35% in 2011.  



Cyber security risks continue to weigh on the minds of retailers and consumers alike, as 54% of back-to-school shoppers surveyed indicate they are more concerned than last year about the protection of their personal data when shopping online. In addition, more consumers are concerned about personal data security when shopping online (68%) compared with shopping in brick-and-mortar stores (50%).  



Yet, while 52% of consumers surveyed said they are concerned about shopping at retailers that have experienced a data breach, only 19% said that they would not continue to shop at a retailer that has suffered a breach.



Among back-to-college shoppers, only 22% of parents but 51% of children will use social channels. More than half (54%) of back-to-college parents prefer to shop retailers who offer the option to buy online and pick up in store.