Back to school sales stimulate online shopping

Thursday, August 25, 2016 - 09:09 by David Aiken

While kids will still be enjoying the summer break, parents across the UK are preparing for their return to school in September by buying a variety of essential products to get them through the next year. And this has helped to increase the number of people purchasing education-related products via safe shopping online, according to a new study from Hitwise.

Analysts found that 100 million more website visits have been generated this year than last by back to school products and offers relating to this part of the marketplace. This is the equivalent of a 2.6 per cent year on year increase in activity, showing that this is already a fairly sizeable and mature part of the digital retail sector as a whole.

In terms of the items that are proving to be most popular among school aged children this year, Pokemon-branded products are perhaps unsurprisingly at the top of the watch list. The success of the Pokemon Go mobile app has helped to reinvigorate interest in this brand and thousands of kids will be returning to schools with backpacks bearing images of their favourite collectable monster.

Interestingly, the report also identified the fact that Apple’s recently released iPad Pro is helping to stimulate a lot of interest on the internet. With a design that focuses more on productivity than merely the consumption of media, it could be seen as an ideal educational tool, albeit for those who have deep pockets and who trust their children to use it responsibly.

Footwear remains a big part of the back to school market and parents are searching for trainers to buy kids via safe shopping online, with Adidas and Kanye West’s Yeezy range generating a lot of searches and site visits in the UK at the moment.