Which Retailers Will Make the Dean’s List This Back-to-College Season?

The combined back-to-college (BTC) and back-to-school (BTS) season is one of the most critical time frames for retail. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), total sales for the season are expected to reach $39 billion and $87 billion for BTS and BTC, respectively. This is a whopping $126 billion combined. The figures, however, reflect a projected 7% drop in sales this year compared to 2023’s combined $135 billion for the season. That is still impressive given the estimated record figures last year driven by inflation, while facing an election year this year.

Following the closure of specialty retail chain Bed Bath & Beyond (BBB) in July of 2023, right in the middle of BTC season I might add, this business has been up for grabs. The typical BBB customer arguably moved away from the retailer long before its final days; however, there has been no clear winner in the BTC race. This year, each major retailer deployed some unique tactics to try and take the lead.

Here is an outline of some of those that stood out, not all of which were for the right reasons.

Walmart

Walmart is typically the destination for BTS shopping. Aisles are lined with PDQ (product display qualifiers) of the usual suspects, from Crayola to Kleenex. This year, however, the retailer made a marked effort to court the Gen Z consumer. These efforts were not exclusive to school supplies but extended across departments and channels. As previously covered by RetailWire, the mass merchant relaunched its private brand No Boundaries in July of this year, targeting this demographic.

Additionally, the in-store assortment followed a fairly consistent theme of checkerboard patterning, including a private brand thermos collection, yarn-dyed towels, and prints throughout textiles. Beyond the aisle came its most targeted approach through the development of Walmart Realm. This is an immersive digital experience with an emphasis on dorm room designs. It also capitalizes on the trend of gamification in retail, which has driven success for fast-fashion marketplaces such as Temu.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Walmart (@walmart)

Sam’s Club

The most notable feature this year from wholesale club retailer Sam’s Club was the marketing push around a 45-day trial membership offering for students. Amazon has offered a student version of its Prime membership program for many years. This was the first year noticing a similar program at Sam’s Club.

Target

Target continued its strategy of highlighting low price points by focusing on essential items and basics and prominently displaying clear signage featuring competitive prices throughout the store, rather than lifestyle imagery. This strategy emphasized affordability over the brand’s traditional focus on fashion and design, and it has continued to rebuild momentum for the retailer and was cited in its recent quarterly results, which included some of the BTC season.

To further target the Gen Z consumer, a partnership with Pinterest was heavily promoted on-site and across the social platform. On a recent earnings call, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready shared that Gen Z users are its largest and fastest-growing demographic, currently representing over 40% of platform users.

IKEA

IKEA was one of the first retailers to launch campaigns around lowered pricing to counter inflationary pressure faced by consumers. On the heels of these marketing campaigns — and a third round of price cuts announced in April — IKEA kicked off its back-to-college strategies. One campaign, covered by RetailWire last month, was a 30-campus bus tour. Paired with this is a gamified digital store on Roblox, a sweepstakes campaign, and a new product offering of bundle configurations to ease the stress of shopping. Programs such as the As-Is offering and buy-back service, which promote sustainability, are poised to align with Gen Z’s efforts to buy secondhand.

Additionally, IKEA launched an immersive experience called the Sleepeasy in NYC to highlight a growing suite of sleep products. Although not marketed as a college-focused event, the immersive experience and timing of the event during a key BTC season were likely not coincidental.

JCPenney

Mid-tier department store chain JCPenney continued to leverage synergies across the SPARC Group suite of brands. The SPARC partnership between Authentic Brands Group, Simon Properties, and SHEIN was highlighted through a curated assortment of products from brands Forever 21 and IZOD, along with private brand Home Expressions, that lined the aisles. Potentially recognizing the potential to capture sales from branded spaces, JCPenney prominently featured licensed properties, giving them prime placement and a strong presence in store collateral.

A newly launched “Shop & Hold” program, a staple feature of BBB, was also featured. The program offers online ordering with future pickup at stores near college campuses.

Kohl’s

Marketing and product focus at Kohl’s this year notably shifted more to BTS rather than BTC consumers, likely in an attempt to court a younger demographic of shoppers and new families. This aligns with the recent launch of Babies“R”Us shop-in-shops across 200 stores. Additionally, the introduction of new brands like Limited Too in kids’ apparel and Aéropostale in the home department were timed to coincide with the peak season. Front-of-store displays as well as the toy department also featured a collaboration with the iconic brand Peanuts.

Dormify

Several years into new ownership, DTC retailer Dormify has reignited its efforts to develop brick-and-mortar partnerships. Last year, the brand partnered with category killer Container Store for in-store displays across key stores. This year, a partnership was inked with Office Depot. Both partnerships drove traffic online with minimal in-store features, though Office Depot carried a capsule offering in 200 stores. Container Store continued the online expanded marketplace offering with Dormify this year; however, it launched its own line of soft goods under a self-named private brand.

As for the other retailers, this season they seemed content carrying through the same efforts as past years, if not more conservatively. With the class president role vacant following the dropout of Bed Bath & Beyond and consumer sentiment hitting a six-month high, surprisingly, the majority seem to be assuming the class is simply pass/fail grading. Perhaps this is due to ongoing economic or political concerns. Whatever the reason, Belk, Dillard’s, Macy’s, Costco, Ross, TJX, and Burlington either offered small drop-in items or crafted promotional displays double exposing basics during this time. Although Pottery Barn features a “Pottery Barn Dorm” sitelet to market its BTC products, it too relies primarily on existing assortments.

The opportunity as well as the consumer for back-to-college and back-to-school seasons is likely to continue to evolve over the next few years. Generation Alpha, those born from 2010 on, will eventually emerge as the next college-bound generation. Based on these shifting customer demographics and the changing retail landscape, it is sure to drive the importance of evolving BTC and BTS strategies.