How Video Commerce Transformed Back To School Shopping In 2024

The truth is, we are in a saturated retail environment and while summer tends to be a slower season for some retailers after the pre summer high, back to school is truly the tentpole event in retail that kicks off the season all the way through the holidays.

The 2024 back to school season is proving to be a critical period for retailers, with significant shifts in consumer behavior and spending patterns. Ecommerce continues to dominate, driven by mobile shopping and personalized marketing campaigns. Here’s a look at the trends and successful strategies that are defining this year’s back to school shopping.

Back to school spending for 2024 is expected to reach $41.5 billion for K-12 students and $94 billion for college students, indicating a steady rise from previous years. This reflects an average spending of $917 per K-12 student and $1,366 per college student.

Parents are investing heavily in technology, with an average of $343 being spent on electronics. Other major spending categories include clothing and traditional school supplies, driven by both in-person learning and hybrid educational models​.

Not surprisingly, online shopping remains a preferred channel for many parents, with more than 50% of back to school purchases happening online. Mobile devices are particularly significant, with over 60% of parents planning to use them for back to school shopping. Retailers like Target and Amazon are optimizing their mobile platforms to cater to this growing trend.​

Video commerce has become an essential tool for engaging consumers during the 2024 back to school season. With the rise of social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, video content continues to be a powerful way to influence purchasing decisions and enhance the shopping experience.

• Engagement and Conversion: Video content is highly effective at capturing consumer attention and driving engagement. 64% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase a product after watching a video about it. This is particularly relevant during the back to school season when parents and students are researching products like electronics, apparel, and school supplies.
• Social Media Influence: Platforms like TikTok have become key drivers of video commerce, particularly among younger consumers. Brands like Old Navy and Dick’s Sporting Goods have successfully used TikTok to create viral back to school content, encouraging user-generated videos that promote their products organically.
• Live Shopping Events: Retailers like Amazon and Kohl’s have embraced live video shopping events, where influencers and brand representatives showcase products in real-time. These events allow consumers to ask questions and make purchases directly through the video platform, blending entertainment with convenience​.
• Brand Storytelling: Brands are increasingly using video to tell their stories and connect with consumers on a deeper level. For example, Target and Walmart have created back to school video campaigns that showcase their products in real-life scenarios, making the shopping experience more relatable and engaging​.

Recently, Lenovo launched its first live commerce event with buywith, where a product expert talked through the deals, essentials, and product expertise during a live shopping event held directly on the brand’s ecommerce site. This resulted in targeting a ready audience with more targeted information to clarify and speed up the purchase cycle, as electronics in particular require more information. To see how this works, let’s chat!

Brands like Amazon have integrated video into its back to school campaign by featuring product demos, customer testimonials, and influencer endorsements. These videos are strategically placed across Amazon’s platform, helping to drive conversions and enhance the shopping experience​, targeting people as they are shopping to provide validation and verification. Similarly, Walmart has leveraged video content to highlight the affordability and variety of its back to school products. By using both pre-recorded videos and live streaming, Walmart has been able to engage a broad audience, from budget-conscious parents to tech-savvy students​.

How can brands create these without the bandwidth of a powerhouse like Amazon and Walmart? buywith also has a shoppable video snippets creation tool that enables brands to splice longer videos that may be readily available into bite-sized videos using a proprietary AI powered tool, many of which can be repurposed as Amazon and Walmart do. Learn more about how this can potentially boost ROAS by up to 1015% here.

American Eagle teamed up with influencers to create a genuine narrative around their customer community to inspire students to wear AE jeans as a part of their everyday looks. And it wasn’t all about selling, as behind-the-scenes videos offered insights behind polished content, giving audiences a glimpse of the actual effort that goes into marketing. 

Old Navy leverages influencer marketing to promote its back to school clothing lines. By collaborating with popular social media influencers and bloggers who resonate with parents and teens, Old Navy is able to showcase its products in a way that feels authentic and relevant. This approach helps the brand connect with a wider audience and drives traffic to both online and physical stores.

For brands with less budget on influencer marketing, UGC is a great alternative option. Even larger retailers like Walmart promote the use of UGC by encouraging customers to share their back to school shopping experiences on social media. Walmart then features this content on its platforms, giving a voice to real customers and creating a community-driven shopping environment. This strategy not only boosts engagement but also adds a layer of authenticity to their marketing.

Time and time again, highlighting social proof, such as best-seller lists and top-rated products, succeeds in guiding consumer choices. Best Buy uses social proof effectively by featuring “Top Rated” and “Best Seller” labels on its back to school tech products on ecommerce. This strategy helps parents quickly identify popular and highly rated items, reducing the decision-making time and increasing confidence in their purchases.

Target uses customer reviews effectively by integrating them into product pages, which helps parents and students make informed decisions. These reviews provide real-life insights into product performance, such as the durability of school supplies or the comfort of clothing, which can significantly influence purchasing decisions.

Encourage giveaways and raffles
Product giveaway videos featuring influencers content creators are highly effective for back-to-school promotions. As shoppers seek discounts and deals, collaborating with influencers to showcase these value-packed offers feels more genuine than traditional ads. It’s akin to receiving a recommendation from a friend, making it more relatable and increasing the likelihood of converting viewers into customers. 

For example, Australian fashion boutique Princess Polly teamed up with influencer Paige Kaiser for a back-to-school giveaway that included $1,000 in cash, a $2,000 wardrobe, and a $500 UberEats voucher. By featuring these prizes in Paige’s videos, Princess Polly effectively reached their target audience and created buzz around their promotion. This approach works because giveaways encourage viewers to watch the entire video, enhance the campaign’s reach, and generate user-generated content as viewers share the giveaway on social media.

Did you know that buywith recently launched a live shopping feature called Raffles that enables giveaways too? Beside being engaging and keeping audiences hooked, it can further ameliorate video commerce by providing hopper a chance to join a live shopping event and tay for it duration. Learn more of how it works here.

As it is a saturated market, it is an idea to appeal to the growing consumer demand for sustainability by highlighting eco-friendly and ethical products. Staples integrates sustainability into its back to school campaigns by promoting products made from recycled materials and offering incentives for recycling old supplies. OfficeMax promotes eco-friendly school supplies as part of its back to school campaign, showcasing items made from recycled materials and offering tips on how students can reduce their environmental impact. This not only appeals to parents and students who prioritize sustainability but also enhances the respective brand image of both as a responsible retailer.

On a similar note, CVS Pharmacy has tailored its back to school marketing to focus on health and wellness. This includes promoting products like hand sanitizers, masks, and vitamins, which are still in demand due to ongoing concerns about health in schools. By highlighting these products in their campaigns, CVS meets the needs of health-conscious parents and students, making it a go-to destination for back to school shopping.

Seamlessly integrate in-store and online shopping experiences to provide flexibility and convenience. For example, Kohl’s has successfully blended in-store and online shopping by offering omnichannel features like BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store). For the back to school season, Kohl’s emphasizes this convenience in its marketing, allowing parents to shop online and pick up their items at their nearest store, which saves time and enhances the overall shopping experience. This strategy appeals to busy parents who need flexibility in how they shop.

On the note of online shopping vs. in store, keeping an ecommerce site mobile responsive is key. Ensure that the mobile shopping experience is seamless and user-friendly, something that Overstock.com does well by focusing on mobile optimization by ensuring that their website is fully responsive and easy to navigate on smartphones. Given that a significant portion of back to school shopping is done via mobile devices, this strategy helps Overstock capture on-the-go shoppers who value convenience and speed.