Back-to-school shoppers are visiting multiple retailers rather than simply going to one-stop stores, according to a recent report from Cardlytics.
The report was based on Cardlytics 2014 back-to-school in-store and online purchase data covering 70% of US households.
Back-to-school spend in big one-stop stores dropped 7.6% in 2014 from 2013 levels, the analysis found.
In contrast, spend at specialty retailers increased in most categories, including office supplies (2.2% year-over-year increase), apparel (2.1%), and sporting goods (1.6%).
Below, additional key findings from the report.
Specialty Categories
Back-to-school shoppers are much more likely to visit specialty retailers than one-stop stores for certain types of goods, such as shoes/athletic gear (6.6 times more likely) and office supplies (5.6 times more likely).
After School Begins
Consumers continue to shop online for back-to-school items for as long as a month after in-store sales taper off at the end of August.
About the research: The report was based on Cardlytics 2014 back-to-school in-store and online purchase data covering 70% of US households.
