June 16, 2026
Will College Students Buy What Bed Bath & Beyond Is Aiming To Sell Them?
Bed Bath & Beyond is making a big play aimed at college students heading back to their dormitories and apartments this year, launching what it’s termed the “College Living” destination within all 97 of its co-branded (alongside The Container Store) locations.
“For a lot of us, college move-in is one of those moments you never forget. It’s exciting, a little stressful, and usually comes with a very long shopping list. Bed Bath & Beyond helped generations of families through that moment, and we’re proud to do it again. We built this collection around real life. The things students actually need. The products parents don’t want to forget. The little touches that make a dorm or apartment feel like home,” said company president Amy Sullivan.
“We focused on great product, great value, and making the entire process easier because families already have enough to think about. College isn’t just about moving into a room. It’s about starting a new chapter. Our job is to make that transition easier, more affordable, and a lot more exciting for students and the families supporting them. Whether you’re moving into your first dorm room or your first apartment, we’re here to help you get ready for what’s next,” she added.
A look at some of the media materials attached to the press release shows focused merchandising efforts reinforcing Sullivan’s promise to make use of every square foot of sales floor space. A “#GRWM” or “Get Ready With Me” rolling cart is backed by a vibrant green placard decked out with stars, while a “Most Likely to Succeed” sign acts as a bit of flair up front. Leaning into the viral trend of the same name popular with young girls and women, the top shelf plays host to a variety of vanity mirrors, while an assortment of pink and purple towels (including a satin and terry hair towel) as well as an IZOD fabric steamer are also displayed.
In addition to the standard small-format bedding and cute storage solutions, a second displayer advertising “Snack Mode: On” works similarly to the beauty prep one outlined above — this time around, though, we’re looking at popcorn machines, Keurig coffee makers, rice cookers, and toaster ovens.
The BB&B press release outlined four distinct product categories within the broader College Living destination within its stores, including:
- Bedding Essentials: In this category you can expect to find comforters, pillows, mattress toppers, sheets, and headboards from $89.99
- Everyday Essentials: Laundry supplies, towels, shower caddies, first aid supplies and kitchen appliances all priced at $40 and below.
- Personal Touches: Ottomans, throws, LED lights, memo boards, accent seating and other decor items are all about creating an aesthetic that belongs to college-aged shoppers.
- Small-Space Storage & Organization: All about saving space and maximum efficiency, this category is comprised of slim hangers, underbed storage solutions, over-the-door organizers, and rolling carts.
BrainTrust
Tanya Thorson
Revenue & Customer Growth Leader, StrategiX Marketing
Mohamed Amer, PhD
Strategy Advisor, CEO & Co-Founder, BridgeCommAI
Jeff Sward
Founding Partner, Merchandising Metrics
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Do you think BB&B’s College Living destination looks promising? What would you change about the look, layout, and assortment, if anything?
Are established competitors in the college basics space too entrenched in terms of cost and convenience (Amazon, Walmart, dollar stores) for BB&B to break through? Or is the target shopper a completely different demographic?
Poll
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Back to college is a huge occasion – total spending is now pushing $90 billion according to our data. Bed Bath & Beyond used to get a nice slice of that and there is no reason that it cannot make revenue with a dedicated offer. Of course, the size of the slice this time around might be more modest as the reach of physical stores is more limited, and the arena is more crowded with players including giants like Amazon, Walmart and Target. Bed Bath & Beyond also has more limited space than the three giants – which means curation and differentiation are key to success.
There are loads of players here, including IKEA. Keys to success include fresh merch, great prices, and publicity. Free publicity is always best!
Back to school is a high purchase intent occasion and BB&B is smart to lean into that. Their product mix looks solid but the bigger challenge will be competing on convenience against the online giants. The in-store experience should do the work once shoppers arrive. The harder job is creating enough buzz and incentive to get people’s foot in the door.
The landscape for the back-to-college customer has changed dramatically since Bed Bath & Beyond exited the market. While the marketing message emphasizes value, its limited reach and scale make it difficult to compete on that positioning against mass merchants. The TJX companies have largely stepped into the branded assortment role that once differentiated Bed Bath & Beyond, offering consumers access to many of the same national brands at compelling prices.
The concept of being a convenient destination for “Everything Home” is appealing. However, if that assortment lacks meaningful differentiation, it is difficult to see what would drive customers to choose it over larger and more established competitors. Convenience alone is rarely enough. The opportunity will likely depend on creating a more distinctive mix of products, brands, and services that gives shoppers a reason to make Bed Bath & Beyond part of their consideration set again.
BB&B’s College Living destination has promise because the moment is right. College move-in is emotional, practical, stressful, and highly shoppable. That is exactly where a retailer can win when the experience feels curated, not chaotic.
The assortment sounds directionally right: bedding, storage, laundry, small appliances, and personal touches. The bigger opportunity is making the destination feel less like a checklist and more like a living system. Students are building identity, independence, and a space that feels like theirs.
With fewer stores and less space than Amazon, Walmart, or Target, BB&B cannot win by trying to out-assort everyone. It has to win through sharper curation, clearer solutions, and a more guided experience.
I would push the layout harder into complete room solutions by lifestyle: small-space survival, beauty and getting ready, snack and study, first apartment, shared bath, and parent peace-of-mind.
- Make it easy to shop by need, budget, room type, and aesthetic.
- Parents want confidence. Students want self-expression. The win is serving both without making either feel like an afterthought.
Amazon and Walmart will own speed and price. BB&B has to own confidence, curation, and the emotional transition. College Living is a smart lane, but the execution has to move beyond “stuff for dorms.” The real business is helping families turn a stressful milestone into a more confident, personal, and memorable experience.
The visual merchandiser in me thinks the #GRWM display looks less like a trend-forward shopping experience and more like a clearance end cap with really good signage.
Bed Bath & Beyond would do well to borrow a page from Ikea’s playbook and create coordinated assortments presented in curated, easy-to-shop displays. Asking customers to figure it out themselves isn’t a good merchandising strategy.
The College Living concept targets the right occasion, but the real buyer is hiding in plain sight. Parents are the conversion event. They hold the wallet, make the trip, and their job-to-be-done is confidence and completeness. They want to leave knowing their kid has everything needed for that first dorm room.
No other physical retailer combines home essentials with small-space organization expertise under one roof. That combination speaks directly to parental anxiety in a way Amazon’s search results page cannot. The dilemma is having both audiences and one aisle: parents need confidence, students need identity. A solved room display serves both simultaneously. A category checklist serves neither.
This is the right move directed at the right customer at the right time. But customers still have lots of choices, so the right marketing is going to be key to peel shoppers away from all those other choices. Then, if the curation is well done, this looks like a bog potential success story.
Target has historically been one of the dominant players for college life, maybe the leader thanks to variety and better than average product design. Bed Bath & Beyond can garner marketshare increases by storytelling in merchandising, being completely solutions-oriented. If the products within the storytelling aren’t enough of a draw over competitors, they must show as a better value or promise to be a one-stop shop.
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Back to college is a huge occasion – total spending is now pushing $90 billion according to our data. Bed Bath & Beyond used to get a nice slice of that and there is no reason that it cannot make revenue with a dedicated offer. Of course, the size of the slice this time around might be more modest as the reach of physical stores is more limited, and the arena is more crowded with players including giants like Amazon, Walmart and Target. Bed Bath & Beyond also has more limited space than the three giants – which means curation and differentiation are key to success.
There are loads of players here, including IKEA. Keys to success include fresh merch, great prices, and publicity. Free publicity is always best!
Back to school is a high purchase intent occasion and BB&B is smart to lean into that. Their product mix looks solid but the bigger challenge will be competing on convenience against the online giants. The in-store experience should do the work once shoppers arrive. The harder job is creating enough buzz and incentive to get people’s foot in the door.
The landscape for the back-to-college customer has changed dramatically since Bed Bath & Beyond exited the market. While the marketing message emphasizes value, its limited reach and scale make it difficult to compete on that positioning against mass merchants. The TJX companies have largely stepped into the branded assortment role that once differentiated Bed Bath & Beyond, offering consumers access to many of the same national brands at compelling prices.
The concept of being a convenient destination for “Everything Home” is appealing. However, if that assortment lacks meaningful differentiation, it is difficult to see what would drive customers to choose it over larger and more established competitors. Convenience alone is rarely enough. The opportunity will likely depend on creating a more distinctive mix of products, brands, and services that gives shoppers a reason to make Bed Bath & Beyond part of their consideration set again.
BB&B’s College Living destination has promise because the moment is right. College move-in is emotional, practical, stressful, and highly shoppable. That is exactly where a retailer can win when the experience feels curated, not chaotic.
The assortment sounds directionally right: bedding, storage, laundry, small appliances, and personal touches. The bigger opportunity is making the destination feel less like a checklist and more like a living system. Students are building identity, independence, and a space that feels like theirs.
With fewer stores and less space than Amazon, Walmart, or Target, BB&B cannot win by trying to out-assort everyone. It has to win through sharper curation, clearer solutions, and a more guided experience.
I would push the layout harder into complete room solutions by lifestyle: small-space survival, beauty and getting ready, snack and study, first apartment, shared bath, and parent peace-of-mind.
Amazon and Walmart will own speed and price. BB&B has to own confidence, curation, and the emotional transition. College Living is a smart lane, but the execution has to move beyond “stuff for dorms.” The real business is helping families turn a stressful milestone into a more confident, personal, and memorable experience.
The visual merchandiser in me thinks the #GRWM display looks less like a trend-forward shopping experience and more like a clearance end cap with really good signage.
Bed Bath & Beyond would do well to borrow a page from Ikea’s playbook and create coordinated assortments presented in curated, easy-to-shop displays. Asking customers to figure it out themselves isn’t a good merchandising strategy.
The College Living concept targets the right occasion, but the real buyer is hiding in plain sight. Parents are the conversion event. They hold the wallet, make the trip, and their job-to-be-done is confidence and completeness. They want to leave knowing their kid has everything needed for that first dorm room.
No other physical retailer combines home essentials with small-space organization expertise under one roof. That combination speaks directly to parental anxiety in a way Amazon’s search results page cannot. The dilemma is having both audiences and one aisle: parents need confidence, students need identity. A solved room display serves both simultaneously. A category checklist serves neither.
This is the right move directed at the right customer at the right time. But customers still have lots of choices, so the right marketing is going to be key to peel shoppers away from all those other choices. Then, if the curation is well done, this looks like a bog potential success story.
Target has historically been one of the dominant players for college life, maybe the leader thanks to variety and better than average product design. Bed Bath & Beyond can garner marketshare increases by storytelling in merchandising, being completely solutions-oriented. If the products within the storytelling aren’t enough of a draw over competitors, they must show as a better value or promise to be a one-stop shop.