The back-to-school battleground will be as fiercely contested as ever this year with almost half (46%) of all parents who have children attending school this year, claiming they will spend more in supermarkets in the run up to the new school year than they would have done previously. A study of 1,030 adults conducted by Empathy Research on behalf of Retail Intelligence, focuses on the battle between the supermarkets for that valuable back-to-school spend.
At the top of the class when it comes to back-to-school shopping are Tesco and Dunnes Stores, with both brands closely matched in the eyes of parents when it comes to their respective back-to-school offerings. Almost a third of parents (32%) believe Tesco are the supermarket which make back-to-school shopping the easiest with almost 3 in 10 (28%) opting for Dunnes Stores.
Tesco’s position as the leader in making back-to-school shopping the easiest for parents is partly driven by the fact they lead in relation to the range of back-to-school items offered (33%) and also for having the best offers on back-to-school items (30%). Dunnes lead in relation to the quality of their back-to-school items (31%), while SuperValu and Discounters only register single digit endorsement on these measures.
Communications in relation to back-to-school offers by supermarkets appear to be cutting through for parents, with 4 in 10 (40%) parents claiming they have noticed more back-to-school promotions by retailers over this summer than compared to last year. These communications will be crucial to the success of supermarkets this year, as over a third (36%) of parents will look to shop in a single store for their child’s back-to-school needs this year.
For more information on the shopping behaviour of parents at back-to-school time, including information on where stationary, uniforms and books will be purchased this year, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research.
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