United Kingdom (UK) Back to School Retail Market - Analyzing Trends, Consumer Attitudes, Occasions and Key Players

Abstract

The UK back to school 2023 report forms part of GlobalData's Retail Occasions series, and offers a comprehensive insight into the consumer dynamics and spending habits of UK consumers for back to school. The report analyses the major players, the main trends, and consumer attitudes.

Although many retailers advertised price locks on school uniforms this year, such as Marks & Spencer's that advertised its three-year price lock on selected items, one in 10 consumers stated that they spent significantly more than last year on back to school items, a rise on 2022. Meanwhile, the overall proportion of consumers that stated they actively cut back on back to school spending to save money increased in 2023, as consumers responded to the financial pressures of the cost-of-living crisis.

High street channel usage for uniform and stationery purchases was down on last year, while online channel usage for all categories except books was up on last year likely due to the ability to check for the best offers at multiple retailers easily.

In 2023 ,Tesco retained the top spot in retailer rankings among the grocers in terms of range, quality and display for back to school products, while ASDA remained the highest rated for price and narrowly gained first place for its interesting products.

While a third of consumers stated they spent slightly more on back to school than last year, consumers did attempt to cut down their spending by purchasing secondhand items.

Reasons to Buy

• Use our in-depth consumer insight to learn which back to school categories are shopped the most by consumers, to adapt back to school ranges to current trends.
• Understand what drives consumers to use a retailer for their purchases, such as convenience, value for money and delivery options, in order to maximise sales potential.
• Use our average spend data to understand how much consumers are prepared to pay in each back to school category and which categories consumers are most willing to invest in higher priced items.