44% of Millennial Canadian Parents Plan to Spend More on Back-to-School Shopping This Year

Even younger parents still heavily favor in-store shopping for all
kinds of back-to-school items – GfK study

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–When it comes to back-to-school shopping, Canada’s Millennial parents
behave like old-school consumers.

In a new GfK study, 44% of Canadian parents in the 25-to-34 age group
(often referred to as Millennials) said they plan to spend more on
back-to-school shopping this year – 10 points higher than the average
(34%) for all Canadian parents.

But even among Millennials, most of that shopping will happen in
traditional retail stores, as opposed to online shopping sites. Overall,
Canadian parents said they will do an average of 84% of their shopping
in store, and just 16% online. For Millennials, the split was 79% in
store versus 21% online; and anticipated bricks-and-mortar buying went
up as the ages of the parents increased.

Even for electronics items – computers, tablets, cellphones/smartphones,
and printers – Canadian parents were much more likely to say they would
buy in traditional shops, as opposed to online. (See table below.)

Similarly, 40% of parents said they would likely research back-to-school
items online and then buy them in stores (known as “webrooming”), while
just 8% expect to research in-store and then buy on the Internet
(“showrooming”). The largest proportion, 43%, report that they will buy
in retail shops without doing any online research.

Among the “bricks and mortar” shopping outlets, over seven in 10
respondents said they are likely to buy at a grocery store (75%), mass
merchandiser or “big box” shop (73%), and/or a dollar store (71%).
Traditional department stores were close behind, at 65%.

Online resources do place second among sources of information about
back-to-school items to be purchased, cited by 33% of Canadian parents.
The schools themselves ranked first, mentioned by 63% of parents. In
addition, 66% of consumers expect to use social media in their
back-to-school shopping – 43% to find out about promotions, and 33% to
browse products.

GfK also found that 97% of Canadian parents will employ at least one
cost-saving tactic during this back-to-school season. Almost three
quarters (72%) say they will buy more items on sale, and 48% expect to
buy “only what my family needs.” Nearly three in ten (29%) parents
report that they will reuse last year’s back-to-school purchases, and
28% expect to rely more on store coupons to save money.

The new research shows that 61% of Canadian parents have done 50% or
less of their back-to-school shopping, with only 6% saying they are
finished.

In-store versus online shopping for back-to-school items

Where Canadian parents will most likely be purchasing …

For its back-to-school study, GfK interviewed 1,007 Canadian households
with children in kindergarten through grade 12; surveys were completed
from August 12^th to 14^th, 2016.

About GfK

GfK is the trusted source of relevant market and consumer information
that enables its clients to make smarter decisions. More than 13,000
market research experts combine their passion with GfK’s long-standing
data science experience. This allows GfK to deliver vital global
insights matched with local market intelligence from more than 100
countries. By using innovative technologies and data sciences, GfK turns
big data into smart data, enabling its clients to improve their
competitive edge and enrich consumers’ experiences and choices.

For more information, please visit www.gfk.com
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Contacts

PUNCH Canada
Hwee Yee Tan, 416-848-6846
Account Director
hwee@punchcanada.com
or
GfK
David
Stanton, 908-875-9844
VP, MarComms
david.stanton@gfk.com