Repost from Avalara
The sprint to the end of the school year is underway. Students are working to finish assignments and prepare for exams while keeping one eye glued to the calendar: three weeks left; then one; summer! Most kids will be happy to close the books and not think about the upcoming school year for two months. But for retailers, now is the time to prepare for the back-to-school retail rush.
Back-to-school spending is second only to winter holiday spending. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), total combined spending for back-to-school and college reached approximately $68 billion in 2015. Although some consumers start earlier, most do their back-to-school shopping during July and August. Retailers have no time to lose.
To have a successful back-to-school season in 2016, retailers need to account for three factors: internet sales, mobile shopping, and back-to-school sales tax holidays.
Internet sales
In 2015, 90 percent of NRF survey respondents said they planned to shop online for back-to-school supplies (including clothing and electronics) due to convenience, free shipping, and the option to pick up their purchases in-store. Online back-to-school shopping increased by nearly 12 percent last year, and that growth is expected to continue this year. Already during Q1 2016, internet sales grew by 15.1 percent and accounted for 11.1 percent of retail sales (factoring out items normally not purchased online).
Online shopping saves time, facilitates comparison-shopping, and enables consumers to avoid crowds. To capture a corner of the back-to-school market (worth roughly $650 per student), ecommerce retailers need to stand out. Strategies include:
- Free delivery
- In-store pick up
- Seamless online shopping experience
Properly handling sales tax is an essential component to successful ecommerce. Consumers expect to encounter no surprises at check out. Ensure that your point-of-sale systems correctly calculate sales tax on deliveries and in-store pick up. Does the method or location of delivery affect the rate? Do you use drop shipping? Sales tax software like Avalara AvaTax ensures the right rules and rates are applied to each transaction, every time.
Mobile shopping
More than 30 percent of back-to-school and college-bound shoppers in 2015 told the NRF they planned to use mobile devices while shopping. They followed through: in August 2015, back-to-school sales made from mobile devices grew 42 percent year over year. For the first time ever, sales made from smartphones and tablets nearly matched sales completed from desktops. Retailing Today says that, this year, “Retailers should be ready to support shoppers across channels by the end of June.”
To capture consumer spend by the mobile savvy, retailers need to provide a seamless experience. Shoppers will research products and deals on their phones and tablets while walking through the aisles. Problems to avoid:
- No mobile site: site hard to view/use on mobile device
- Price glitches: prices on mobile sites are wrong
- Slow load times
Another killer: check out surprises. As with internet shopping on desktops and laptops, getting sales tax wrong can kill a sale.
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