6 ways retailers can (and should) test holiday promotions during back to school

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By FIONA SWERDLOW, HEAD OF RESEARCH, SHOP.ORG | Published: AUGUST 25, 2011

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Online back-to-school and back-to-college shoppers may be shopping around, but they are far from done, according to the latest survey from NRF. Fully two-thirds of online back-to-school and back-to-college shoppers have done half or less (ahem, much less) of their expected shopping to date.

For consumers, it’s likely a matter of finding the best shopping values (and perhaps not jumping the gun on the “wrong” things). Of the purchases that online back-to-school and back-to-college shoppers have made, more than one third of purchases already completed have been influenced by coupons, sales and/or promotions. Those coupons, sales and promotions have also influenced where online school shoppers choose to buy: three out of five online back-to-school shoppers note that coupons influence them to shop at a particular store (slightly more than online back-to-college shoppers), and two out of five credit in-store promotions with similar influence. With not quite two weeks left until Labor Day, online back-to-school and college shoppers expect to do the remainder of their shopping not only online, but also in department stores, clothing stores, discount stores, and office supply stores.

For retailers, it’s an extremely important time of year, second only to Christmas in terms of sales and the amount of inventory they line their stores with. With not a moment to lose, retailers can use this deadline-focused shopping period as a test run for the upcoming holiday season, and should:

• Signal “value” to customers. Very different from “low price” or “discounted”, value focuses on quality, style, materials, durability, flexibility and other product attributes that tell the customer that this is indeed the right product at the right price.
• Push back-to-school and back-to-college content to the forefront of the site and through social media, including product videos, expert tips and advice, as well as customer ratings and reviews that speak directly to shoppers.
• Fine tune paid search strategies to focus on products and categories that are particularly important for school shopping.
• Revamp email strategies to include a proactive shopping cart remarketing program.
• Note clearly Labor Day-centric shipping deadlines on both the site and in ad copy.
• Test shipping offers. As a final chance to test various options ahead of the holiday season, retailers can test a variety of options to gauge customer response, from free returns shipping and flat rate or discounted shipping, to in-store pick up for online orders, a loyalty program benefit, even a discounted express shipping offer for procrastinators.

Want more insight into back-to-school data for 2011? Download full survey results or visit NRF’s back-to-school headquarters.