Latest / WOI Unfiltered / Back to School Buying Trends - Epi 31
Transcript
- Jenna: I am Emily Fisher: Hey Jenna, how you doing? Jenna: Good, good, good. ⁓ although we're covering like, I don't know if it's my favorite or least favorite topic today. Emily Fisher: Least favorite just because the summer goes so fast. But yes, back to school. Which is highly relevant. It has been for what? Two months, a month and a half? Jenna: Yes. ⁓ god, don't even say that. Yes. We're chatting about back to school today. I just found out I was chatting with one of our clients today who is based in the Nashville area and her kids go back to school on ooh, wait, what is it? Emily Fisher: I wanna say it's next week or the week after. Jenna: Her kids go back to school on august tenth. So there you go. Emily Fisher: Yeah. Yeah. Any yeah. It's crazy. Jenna: yeah, it it is it's pretty crazy. so and it's funny because ⁓ your kids go back to school what the eighteenth? The nineteenth. Okay. Emily Fisher: Nineteenth, little short week. Yeah, so that's you know, it's two weeks from tomorrow. You put it that way. Jenna: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And mine don't go back until I think it's the first of September. which is even early for us, honestly. Emily Fisher: Wow. Yeah, 'cause you're usually after Labor Day. Jenna: Yeah. But I it dawned on me this weekend that we have a week and a half at home and then we go on like our big summer trip. I planned it late in the summer this year. And I don't know if I'm regretting that or not. Well it remains to be seen. ⁓ but what I I might it's like an end of this summer thing, but what I did realize was there's zero time to do any back to school shopping. Emily Fisher: Test it out. You might like it. I used to do it that way. Yeah. Jenna: when we get home. So I am now, I frantically like panic ordered their backpacks this weekend. ⁓ and have started looking at like back to school shoes for them. But then I was like, ⁓ God, I have to figure all this out. ⁓ but let's t today we're gonna talk about the shopping habits of people. And they have, like I remember when I was a child. Emily Fisher: Yes. You need to jump right in. Yeah. Yeah. They've changed and shifted, yeah. Jenna: Every summer, toward the end of summer, I would go with my mom and we would do a back to shopping day and we would do a big haul. And at the time I want to say maybe she ended up spending like $500, which felt massive to me, like huge to me. ⁓ yeah, and we would do a big, huge haul. And then she would get me little things here and there throughout the year, but like that was the big haul. And I think that that has changed so much. Emily Fisher: Massive. If it it was then, yeah. Yeah. Jenna: In the last couple of well, I don't even know since when, but it is so different now, I should say. what did you do when you were a kid, ⁓ Emily Fisher: Yeah. We did it similar as well, and we went to a school that didn't have a dress code, so that makes it just inherently very different than what my kids get in terms of prep because there's a really succinct list. There's stuff you can reuse every year for supplies, and our school gives a lot of supplies, as I'm sure yours does too, and we just don't need the clothing. We just need to make sure certain pieces are in the right size. ⁓ so yeah. Jenna: ⁓ wait, do your kids have a uniform? I forgot about that. Yep, okay. I forgot about that. Emily Fisher: Correct. Yeah. ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It it makes it really different. And you know, the uniform adjustments are always like everyone always has opinion on those. Like Sam will have to wear a belt this year, which she's never had to do. But before COVID, it's something that the the boys had to do. So I got one of those from Target. ⁓ I hate wearing it, but that's not too bad. You know? Jenna: So I that is interesting because I do think back to school shopping is probably quite different for the households that have uniforms versus those that do not. ⁓ my kids do not have a uniform, but before we get into the trends, what I what I will say about our back to school shopping, I've learned my lesson in the last two years because I had tried to do something similar to what my parents used to do and do like a big haul. Emily Fisher: Yes. Yeah. Jenna: And what I realized is it's still really hot for the first two months of summer or f two months of school. And so my kids didn't really need all the fall clothes I was buying. And by the time they got to be wearing the fall clothes, I had bought the wrong size. They had already grown so much. And then it was like past the return window and I just wasted a lot of money. So I have learned my lesson. Emily Fisher: Yeah. Yeah. No, that's a really good call. Right, right. So now you're learning. Jenna: We tend to do like new pair of shoes at like three new outfits maybe, you know, like a first day school outfit and then like two or three other ones. And then I kind of wait until the season changes to reassess the closet and see what we need new with like the warmer weather or the colder weather stuff, because otherwise I just waste a lot of money. Emily Fisher: Yeah. That ⁓ that actually sounds fun though. I I imagine well at least Isla, if I'm profiling a little bit, probably really likes it. Rosie has asked me about going on a back to school shop. It's really for locker supplies, which we haven't done yet. But as you know, I front loaded my travel this summer. So I'm I'm all right. So if you need me to do any for you, just let me know. Jenna: I I might I might call you and yeah. We did get I will also say the difference. So when I was growing up, I think I got a new backpack every year. and I I quickly realized with my kids that that was so unnecessary. So Isla ha has had her backpack for like four years now and it's it's seen its day. I mean it's so I did yeah, and Will's Emily Fisher: Totally. ⁓ my gosh, yes. Yeah. Last leg. You Jenna: backpack that he had last year. He didn't get a new one going into kindergarten because he already had one, but it was kind of small. And there's stuff like the folders and the binders and the stuff just gets bigger as they get bigger. ⁓ so they both got new backpacks this year, but they'll they'll they should last for a few years because that's like an investment piece. I feel like you don't need to get that every Emily Fisher: Yeah, yeah, that's true. Yes. ⁓ I agree. I've had arguments about backpacks. If I'm like you just don't need that many. But we did get a new one for Rosie and I'm hoping it'll be through senior year, to be honest. So we'll see. Jenna: Yeah. Yeah. So let's look at speaking of spending and like what makes us pull our hair out. ⁓ we were doing some research into this. And the NRF National Retail Federation, they put out some projections every year. They they do a bunch of studies on like what people are buying, how much they're spending, all of that. ⁓ so spending is going up this year according to their projections. Emily Fisher: Mm-hmm. Jenna: think by about four billion dollars. So that's a jump. and I think the average they said families with elementary school kids spend per student is eight hundred and fifty ish, eight hundred and sixty ish dollars. ⁓ which I think is is interesting, but probably pretty accurate when you look at how it all adds up. I I yeah Emily Fisher: Yeah. And this is kindergarten through twelfth grade data. but I mean that that kind of jives with even how you said your your approach was growing up, right? Jenna: Yeah. Well in I think it was Deloitte had a lower projected spend, closer to like five fifty or so per student. So, you know, I guess it depends on the the what y it depends on who's done the study or like how they're projecting it. ⁓ but Delo Emily Fisher: Okay. And electronics being a big piece is kind of a a ⁓ key differentiator too, because I doubt you were buying that many years ago, right? Jenna: Mm. Well, but ⁓ we don't buy any electronics for our kids for school. Emily Fisher: Nor do we. yeah, we don't either, but NRF's data says, you know, over about two to three hundred is electronics, which I suppose would be, I don't know, ⁓ tablets and calculators, potentially. Jenna: So I wonder if that's the discrepancy between NRF and Deloitte as well. Cause if you subtract that electronic piece, ⁓ you get closer to what Deloitte has. So I do wonder I I we'd have to look at their data set, but yeah, I I wonder if that's the discrepancy. The thing that I found interesting ⁓ from the Deloitte data was that if you adjust for inflation, they're actually saying that families are spending slightly less this coming year. Emily Fisher: Yeah. Okay. Jenna: And that was I I forget the source, but I saw something else about it where it was basically saying people are spending more but on the same volume of stuff and the and the c the difference is just the cost has gone up, which we all know right now. Emily Fisher: Completely. Yeah. And that's frustrating, really frustrating, just because of inflation and recognizing that yeah, your spend could be a third more, but your haul is exactly the same or maybe less in some cases. Jenna: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I just I feel like it's definitely a challenge for parents right now, especially when you have multiple kids, like the more kids, the more spending, all that. ⁓ it is definitely something that I think families are feeling. and and it makes it interesting, right? Because you are trying to still provide the same experience for your kids, but costs are definitely up and and Emily Fisher: Yeah. Jenna: So families are gonna take a hit if they wanna give that same experience for sure. Emily Fisher: Yeah, and I think it segues into kind of the next piece of it because kids are influenced either by friends or people they're seeing online or any outside exposure because they do have that lens into the world way more than we did growing up. So they have thoughts on what they want to add into that digital or physical cart, don't they? Jenna: It's crazy. I mean, I'm curious. My my kids tend to be decently lax about the clothes and and they tend to let me choose them, even Isla. ⁓ although as they've gotten older they do they have stronger opinions. Will, who was in kindergarten last year, going into first this year, Emily Fisher: Yeah. Jenna: has surprised me a few times with having strong opinions on things like sneakers that he's seeing from other friends. so yeah, I mean and I think the data was showing that a lot of parents, more than half of parents, do let their kids kind of fill the cart, the proverbial cart, if it's online shopping or the physical cart. They they do let them have a say in what they're buying, which I think is wonderful. ⁓ Emily Fisher: Okay. Yeah. Jenna: But is definitely then influencing, you know, the cost of of spend for sure. Emily Fisher: Yeah. ⁓ and there's great little properties that help them with that. I I think I've sang the praises of Giftful, the online curation site for just general wish list. It's not tied to a wedding registry, a baby registry. It's actually just what you want in life from any gift giver. ⁓ and so my daughter does that, and it's kind of kind of great and it's super easy. It's like Pinterest for gifting. So she she definitely has ideas into how she wants to approach this. season of shopping and consumerism. Jenna: All good. Actually, this is a perfect little cut. ⁓ I think we should jump down to segment five because it flows nicely with this about the brands influencing kids. So let's jump down to that and then we can go back up to number three if we want. Emily Fisher: Great. Okay, perfect. Jenna: I think Ziggy barked as you finished saying consumerism. Emily Fisher: Yeah, I was and I was just gonna say my son doesn't care, but then maybe maybe I can ask you a question about other influences or something. Jenna: Yeah. Say the word shopping and consumerism and then go into my son doesn't care. Just so I can grab that clip in case I need to move it. Emily Fisher: Okay. Right. Totally. Okay. Shopping and consumerism. And then, you know, my my son really doesn't care. He really doesn't. Not even Owen style. So ⁓ it it's a funny, funny mix. But Jenna, you know, outside of the typical influences, certainly brands are influencing kids too. Jenna: Yeah. It and it's funny because what I've noticed is so for the longest time my kids were only watching shows that I selected on like a streaming platform with no ads. And then in the last two years or so, keep in mind my kids are four, six and eight, so they're young. But in the last two years or so they've they've started to see more ads with like the difference in things that they're watching. And I have noticed when they see certain ads out in the real world or on TV, then they start asking for those things. Obviously, we're in marketing. Like we know that that's that's the intention. it works. It works for sure. ⁓ but it just it kind of goes and this is for children probably older than my kids, but it goes to the fact that you know brands are selling back to school in a way that speaks to identity. So they're approaching kids probably more like Rosie's age ⁓ and older Emily Fisher: Yeah. Mm-hmm. It works. Yeah, you got it. Jenna: in high in middle school, high school a and older elementary, really trying to help them form their identity through clothing and shoes and the backpacks they're carrying and all of that. And so you see a lot of brand campaigns, American Eagles one that's kind of pushed hard for back to school with different types of denim. They had a ⁓ a campaign around low rise denim. ⁓ and it's obviously it's something kids will see in ads and then also through Emily Fisher: No, please. Yeah. Jenna: ⁓ you know, if they are on social media, they'll see it there too. but it's just interesting because this is how kids are forming their opinion. It's through their friends and peers and it's also through these ad campaigns and these creator campaigns these days. Emily Fisher: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's such a big way for them to find it. And the ones in the mix are definitely the one that I would say the tween teen set is ⁓ purchasing between American Eagle and Tillies, for example, but it's really smart to have that campaign live on on properties like TikTok. It's amazing how many younger people I am seeing on this now that I am starting to enter that social ether and I I sort of always hoped that it was an older bracket, but you know older teens are on there. I'm sure younger sorry tweens. ⁓ and it it's a little nerve-wracking to be honest. We are still not allowing ownership of it, but you can't step away from it when friends get phones and have that access. So point being it's the right Jenna: Yeah. Well, and I think that the brands that will win are I mean, you're gonna have outliers, right? Like you're gonna have the families that say, Go go buy whatever you want based on what you're influenced by, great. I I think a lot of times the brands that are gonna win are the brands that can take into consideration cost, right? So they have the right deals or they are just at the right price point and those trends that the kids are looking for. this is not a brand that's popped up in our in our searching, so I don't wanna I'm not gonna speak to any stats or facts or figures, but I do feel like Target and Old Navy do a really great job with back to school and have both really expanded their offerings to appeal more to the younger generations. ⁓ my daughter was in there with me recently. We were visiting family, so we weren't in our Target. We were in another state. and I don't go into Target often. I do a lot of online shopping, but she was in there with me and she was picking out things left right, like everywhere. And I was like, ⁓ okay. So Yeah. ⁓ so I think that some of the brands that will win are the brands that parents can swallow the price and kids feel like they're being seen and heard from that the trends that they want and the identity they're forming. Emily Fisher: Yeah. She loved it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and it's easy too. I mean, it it takes effort to get to a Tilly's for us, but Target anyone can access. And you also know that you can rely on it year after year. I mean, quite literally. I I bought Sam's back to school pants. ⁓ they're like golf pants from Target. They're so great. They're really, you know, a good cost. And I happened to whoops, buy them in the same size he had last year. which was obviously duplicated. So easily exchange them. They just make the whole journey so simple anyway. And just being able to rely on it is that's all I need. And then you're like, check, check, I'm done on one and moving on. Jenna: Yeah. Yeah. Well, and some of the stats that we were seeing popping up were parents talking about rewards, right? Rewards programs, which I know Old Navy, I buy a ton of my kids' clothes at Old Navy because they're typically in style, but also you can get them for really, really cheap. So for example, I can get and same thing with Target, I can get a pair of leggings for my daughter for Call it $10. If she rips that in gym class, I don't care. You know, like I it's not gonna be a huge deal. I'm just gonna buy her another pair versus something like, you know, I've purchased her J. Crew leggings several times. And those are more like $40 for a pair of leggings. You know, if she rips that in gym class, I'm a little bit bummed. So yeah. So I do think those, ⁓ the stores that A are great on cost, but B have the Emily Fisher: Yes. Yeah. Right. No Yeah, of course. And rightly so. Yeah. Jenna: the rewards programs and loyalty programs where you can save some money, especially if you're doing a big bulk shop, are really making a difference for families this year. Emily Fisher: Yeah. So we also see data on what families are making room for in light of you know in increased spending in other places and I think you know interestingly enough they are still protecting their sports budgets ⁓ and instead just cutting elsewhere to pay for these things. ⁓ So this is citing data from KPMG. Seven in ten families plan to pay for youth sports this upcoming school year in 26-27. That's a lot 70% Jenna: Yeah. Emily Fisher: you know, Jenna, I know that that's something you guys pursue. Rosie's just trying out for a couple volleyball club teams. This would be a first for us as well, that's outside of the house leagues and the school leagues and whatnot. So I don't know if I could become one of the seventy percent, but that's a that's a high figure. Jenna: Well, and I'm guessing the seventy percent also includes like for example, my son ⁓ doesn't play in a club team. He plays the town that we live in has like rec teams, but you still to pay for them. So right, right. So I'm I'm sure that this includes all of that because you are paying for it. It's just obviously a much more reasonable cost. ⁓ but yeah, I mean I I will say Emily Fisher: Yeah. Short. Absolutely. Jenna: I see families doing this all the time. I think about the club team that my daughter plays on. And ⁓ and t let's let's be clear too. We're this is our second year. And T B D, if we think that we're gonna continue this after this year. It it my daughter has to get a little bit more joy from it this year for us to say this is really worth it. ⁓ because she is so young and you know, we're not looking at anything more serious. So it's just Emily Fisher: Yeah, sure. Yeah. Yeah. Jenna: That is a big factor in our decision is how much she's going to enjoy it because it's very expensive and that needs to be part of it. But we see a lot of families on her team who are doing exactly what this is talking about, who do sacrifice vacations and other kind of luxuries that you, you know, that you would We see a lot of families on her team that do sacrifice things like vacations and trips and other things that are just more in the luxury category so that their child can play on these club teams. ⁓ so it's it's definitely something we're seeing firsthand too. Emily Fisher: Yeah, and that's exactly what's being cut, right? Entertainment, travel, dining out. I I say this all the time, Jenna, but I do look at late August, early September as more of a renewal time for me personally. But I think for a lot of people, even even more so than Jan one, twenty twenty-seven, you know, you're in this unstructured lack of routine summer and school forces you to get back into, you know. Things that feel good and healthy and more like routine, not just getting up in the morning, but cooking three to five meals a week or whatever. That's a lofty goal for yours truly. But ⁓ you know, dining out. That that makes a lot of sense that that kind of expense would come down. And I think it's just it's the world making, or at least America, making decisions between what's truly essential in terms of an income spend and redefining what discretionary. Jenna: ⁓ god. Yeah. I think the last thing, and it dovetails nicely on what you just said, is the idea of the brick and mortar store. Because what we saw, ⁓ some of the information was saying is that it like, yes, online is still huge. A lot of families are shopping online, myself included. But specifically around the back to school time frame, you do see a lot more families going into a physical store. Emily Fisher: Mm-hmm. Jenna: Because sometimes that's where like the best deals can be found is in the store. It's almost like Black Friday, but you you see a lot of great deals in store. It's also weirdly enough, in the way that you just said, kind of, you know, getting your life back on track and starting to cook again, starting to do those things again, dragging your kids to a store like that is kind of one of the first steps of like, okay, let's Emily Fisher: Yeah. Jenna: Do this and make this feel like a real thing. Like you have to get in this car and go go with me and go shopping. Emily Fisher: Right. Yet it's also an activity when your camp schedule might be concluded. Yeah, that's that's right. Yeah. I mean Jenna: Yes. Yeah. But I think what was it? ISCS said ninety one percent of back to school shoppers expect to spend at least some time in a in a physical store. That's a huge percentage. Emily Fisher: Yeah. ⁓ yeah. We we will definitely be there for back to school shopping before the end of this month. And I think the cool thing about that, a lot of these stores have things to discover in store that you're not gonna discover online. Costco is such a great example of that in terms of the the s surprises that you see in aisle that don't pop up on your Instacart or wh whatever the case may be. Aldi also, another store that surprises you in in the five aisles you shop. But I I think especially around back to school, it's nice to feel like you can gift a little something extra to kids to get them excited for the proposition of re-entering, the grand re-entry for these school-age kids. Jenna: Okay, no wait. We have to backtrack to what you just said, 'cause Costco's just we at some point had a Costco card. I don't think we do anymore. I have not physically walked into a Costco in years. What are we doing at Costco for back to school? Like what is what is at Costco for back to school? Is it clothes? Is it blankets? Is it I I don't even know. Emily Fisher: We did. Yeah. We do. Me neither, Jenna. That's Okay, well absolutely. Okay, so yes, all of that plus You know, if you're going in there just to get your snack game organized for packing lunches, you're bound to find treasures that are not edible and related to back to school. Whether or not it's like cute notepads and pens and, you know, mechanical pencils or, you know, shoes or little ⁓ uniform pants and stuff like that. you know, those little desks that kind of sit on your lap that are fun and Jenna: ⁓ God. Emily Fisher: and fanciful. ⁓ yeah. Point being it's more of like a a treasure hunt that you discover. You might not you're going in for something else and then you're leaving with an expanded cart because you're saying to yourself, well these things are cool and if you have your kids, chances are they're gonna you're gonna tug on that and want to do that. Yeah. Jenna: ⁓ gosh, yeah. Well, I will say on that note, when we were in Target the other day, we had no intention of buying school supplies. And for my children, our school offers this thing. You have to order it in June at the end of the school year, but it's like a back to school box. And it's a box filled with all the school supplies they would need. You just pay one cost, and every child who orders it gets the same thing. ⁓ and it makes life so much easier for the family. So I do that for my kids. ⁓ Emily Fisher: Cute. Yeah. Sure. Jenna: But what that does mean is they get a little bit taken away from them in terms of like individuality and the excitement of personalized notebooks and things like that. So when we were in Target, we were looking, we just stumbled upon it. And of course, my daughter started to get excited about some of the notebooks she was seeing and all of that. So we did get a few extra ones. I'm sure she and like highlighters and stuff that would be really fun for her. So we did get some of that. Emily Fisher: Yeah. Jenna: But the funny thing was she found this little Fox notebook and like spiral notebook and it was $10. And at first I was like, yeah, of course you can get it. And we threw it in the cart. We went two aisles over, and there was a smattering of other cute notebooks for $2 each. And I was like, ⁓ no, you're not getting the $10 Fox one anymore. Like, pick one or two of these really cute ones. Because I didn't realize I was getting ripped off. Emily Fisher: let's get five. Yeah, exactly. ⁓ Yeah, totally. But that might not have been something you tracked on if you were just online only. Yeah. Jenna: I would never have tracked on the fact that I was being ripped off online only, which was the benefit of being physically in store. Because two aisles over, I could see the cost difference and I was like, ⁓ wait a second, let's adjust. And we did, and she was fine and loved what she got anyway. So all was good. Emily Fisher: Yes. Correct. That is fantastic. Well, it sounds like you've already been successful, Jenna. So I I think you're gonna be just fine on the dawn of this new school year when you guys go back. Jenna: We shall see. We shall see. anyway. All right, ⁓ well, I guess good luck to all the parents out there who are doing back to school shopping. To all the kids that are trying to find their true identity. Emily Fisher: Through clothing and supplies. It's true, it's true. Jenna: ⁓ goodness. And I guess officially we need to start I'm I'm like in dual mind right now where it's summer still and the back to school planning. I will say from one of our last episodes where I said I won didn't want to think about it at all. all of that good stuff. It's it's front and center. We've signed up for all the fall sports that we needed to sign up for. Yep. Emily Fisher: It's it's from the center. Yeah. And once you start planning for your trip, you're gonna say to yourself, How does the last minute things for back to school fit in before you leave for that trip? You know, it's just how the brain goes, right, Jenna? Jenna: But anyway, ⁓ so ⁓ we're at the end. It's about that time I ask you, what's your impact? Emily Fisher: Yeah. Yes, sure. So I I took a little bit of my own medicine this weekend, ⁓ proverbially because or metaphorically I should say, and I I leaned into that nostalgia, and I imposse bought some well-priced tickets for Lollapalooza on Sunday. I know surprising to you, right, Jenna? ⁓ and brought my daughter to see Beba Doobie and Tate McCrae. now, what did I learn? I I am definitely too old for Jenna: Yeah Emily Fisher: For it. I need I need VIP or above. It is hard to stand somewhere for four hours, and I can't imagine the people who did four days. But they do do an amazing job, the festival organizers in Chicago in general. It is something to be so proud of. The weather ended up being fine. It was really muddy because it had rained ⁓ quite a bit prior. So there's viral video about these mud wrestling, you know, ⁓ attendees in the mud, you've probably seen which. Jenna: I was Emily Fisher: Is hilarious. But anyway, she really enjoyed it. We we met up with neighbor friends who were there, so she had a little buddy, and I I checked into that nostalgia. And I was just proud. I was proud that I did it because it would have been really easy not to. ⁓ and I I took us both back, and there were a lot of smiles. So that I feel like I helped impact her little life this week, which made me happy. Jenna: I love that so much. I love that so much. That is so wonderful. well thank you for sharing that. And perhaps we can share some throwback photos of you on social. That would be amazing. ⁓ Emily Fisher: ⁓ great. Yeah, let me see what I took. ⁓ I I certainly looked happy to be there when I looked at the photos. I was like, ⁓ but if you had photographed my feet, it would have told you a different story. ⁓ Jenna: Yeah, different story. Yeah. ⁓ gosh. All right, ⁓ well thank you so much. Good luck to everyone dealing with back to school. Bye. Emily Fisher: Good luck all. Bye.