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How to Boost Your Store’s Average Back-to-School Basket Size

By Jasmine Glasheen. 

The back-to-school season is a big boom for the retail industry. Seasonal sales amplify spending for retailers across the spectrum — from rubber band companies to electronics to luxury apparel. In fact, NRF reports that back-to-school spending reached an average of $969.88 per household last year, which is a 10 percent increase from 2016. Since back-to-school retail sales are increasing rapidly each year, you as a retailer need to start preparing your business to capture the maximum amount of consumer spend.

Read on to find out which categories are leading the charge in back-to-school sales… and what you can do to help your company get in on the action!

Fastest-Growing Categories

Back-to-school electronics sales are growing faster than you can say, “Mom, I need a new laptop.” RetailDive reports, “Parents say they will spend an average of $238.89 on clothing, $204.33 on electronics, $130.38 on shoes and $114.12 on school supplies.” Three of these top-selling categories — clothing, electronics and shoes — are comprised of high-cost items. And while apparel might still be the biggest category for back-to-school spending, the electronics market is growing quickly, driven by a growing demand for the newest tech in schools and classrooms. Electronics come in at a close second when it comes to back to school spending and consumer interest in high-priced apparel and shoes shows no sign of slowing down.

College Students Accelerate Sales

College students are driving the electronics market. In fact, the recent sales jump in back-to-school college spending is the result of increased consumer confidence and a growing demand from college students for costly electronics — which have become as staple in many of today’s college classrooms. So, which electronics are leading the charge for back-to-school in 2018? If last year’s sales tell us anything, laptops (45%), tablets (35%) and calculators (35%) will be top sellers this year. Laptops aren’t cheap, however, and many customers will need to monitor deals or do their back-to-school spending early in order to make their major electronics purchases more affordable.

Families Cope with Rising Costs

Big-ticket apparel and electronics can be a costly expense for families during back-to-school season.In fact, NRF reports that 60 percent of the folks who started their back-to-school shopping early did so to “spread out their budgets,” while 48 percent started early because “they didn’t want to miss out on sales.” Since a large number of families shopping for back-to-school are scrimping, saving and planning to handle the ever-growing cost of sending their kids back-to-school, there’s an opportunity to differentiate yourself as a retailer by simplifying the process of paying for big-ticket items. By breaking down the expense of paying for costly back-to-school gear such as apparel and laptops, you can make your products more accessible to families of all sizes and save them valuable time during the hectic back-to-school season.

Make Your Big-Ticket Items Accessible

The challenge is how to make your products more accessible without lowering prices. Luckily, Quadpay offers a simple payment solution to help you break down the prices of your big-ticket items without tacking on the additional interest that comes with using a credit card. Quadpay lets families to pay for pricy back-to-school items such as laptops and tablets over a 6-week timespan with 4 interest-free payment installments. Plus, customers can pay for products with their existing credit or debit card, eliminating the scare-factor of applying for an additional credit line — which can help boost basket size whether your customers are families shopping for children, or newly-minted college kids making their first major electronics purchase.

Final Thoughts

This back-to-school season customers are going to be seeking out creative ways to finance their big-ticket purchases such as apparel, laptops and tablets. By offering families stress-free ways to finance their more expensive purchases, you can boost your store’s average basket size and make your business a go-to destination for back-to-school shoppers who are in the market for expensive necessities such as electronics. If you’re looking for a way to make your back-to-school inventory more affordable without reducing margins, Quadpay might be the perfect answer to set your store apart from the pack.


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