Baynote Study Reveals Families Navigate Cross-Channel Shopping Together During Back-to-School Season

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Baynote, a leading provider of personalized customer experience solutions, today revealed the results from its "Back-to-School" shopper behavior survey. The study, conducted in partnership with the e-tailing group, surveyed 1001 U.S. parents with school-age children (or who are in school themselves) in advance of the 2014 back-to-school season, to gain insight into what is driving their shopping behavior this year.

"We wanted to discover what is motivating buyers this back-to-school season and how retailers should adjust to capitalize on their changing shopping behaviors," said Marti Tedesco, ‎Senior Director, Corporate Marketing at Baynote. "As consumer expectations rise and stores like Amazon continue to dominate, it is more important than ever that retailers understand how and why consumers are making purchases so they can tailor the shopping experience accordingly."

Following are highlights of the insights provided by the survey. For detailed analysis of the data and to view the associated infographic visit: http://www.baynote.com/infographic/back-to-school/

The family that shops together, spends together

• Seventy percent of respondents say they will shop together with their student in-store; 36 percent will shop together online
• Eighty-five percent of respondents said their student's wish list (items they would love to get) is influential in the purchasing process, second only to school-supplied lists and followed by product reviews, with 79 percent listing them as influential
• Most shoppers fit into two categories - those who want to get ahead of the game and start shopping as soon as they can (37 percent); or those who wait to buy based on promotions (26 percent)

"While parents are the primary buyers of back-to-school supplies and apparel, their student's opinions play an important role in the purchase decision," said Lauren Freedman, president, e-tailing group. "So it is important for retailers to understand how the entire family - both parents and students - are being influenced, especially as the social and mobile channels continue to gain traction."

Stores rule for the purchase, but consumers channel surf before they get there

• On average, respondents say 64 percent of their shopping will take place in-store, the rest online via computer or mobile device
• 40 percent of consumers say that paper catalogs influence their in-store purchases, more than any other channel. A close second is Amazon, with 36 percent saying the ecommerce site influences their in-store buying habits
• 34 percent of respondents said they will be using smartphones more to research products as compared to 23 percent who will actually be using those phones to purchase
• While in-store, 49 percent of consumers will use smart phones to redeem coupons, 40 percent will use them to compare prices on Amazon

"Consumers are taking advantage of all the options offered to them in today's multi-channel environment and toggling between channels and devices to facilitate different parts of the shopping experience," said Tedesco. "Retail merchandisers have to play all the cards -- in-store, online, mobile, by channel promotions -- and timing them all in a way that is complementary, keeping omni-channel in mind. It's a tall order."

"Email Offers" and "Free Shipping" are effective promotions, with social on the rise

• Eighty-four percent of shoppers say they will likely tap into conditional free shipping offers, more than any other promotion 
• E-mail promotions are a key driver in back-to-school buying, with more than 80 percent saying they will likely take advantage this season
• Flash sales and social media promotions remain secondary to more traditional methods of deals, but are gaining traction: 64 percent of respondents said they would be likely to take advantage of each this year
• Social media influence is dominated by Facebook, with 24 percent saying they or their student will use the social network when completing back to school shopping; the number rises to 31 percent when accounting for only college age students who say Facebook plays a role in online back to school shopping

About Baynote:

Baynote is a leading provider of big data solutions for retail. Using Baynote's patented approach, retailers are able to personalize the consumer shopping experience "in the moment," displaying compelling offers, content and products that increase engagement, conversion, and average order value. Baynote rapidly integrates with existing websites, onsite search, chat or email systems to increase ROI without deep IT involvement or expensive system upgrades. Based in San Jose, Calif., Baynote's personalization solutions are trusted by more than 300 of the world's most well-known brands, including Callaway Golf, Crate and Barrel, J.Crew, Jockey, 3M and more. For more information about Baynote, visit http://www.baynote.com.

Methodology:

Baynote and the e-tailing group conducted an email survey of 1,001 parents with school age or adult students in the house between July 7 and July 13, 2014. One hundred percent of those surveyed own a smartphone.

Media contact:
Sarah Spitz
Bateman Group
[email protected]
832-444-7151

SOURCE Baynote