According to major financial corporation Capital One, widespread budget cuts have led to more students and their families being held responsible for purchasing school supplies that would normally be provided by the schools. In fact, 42 percent of the corporation's survey respondents say that their back-to-school spending will be impacted by school budget cuts.
"Parents are feeling the effects of the economy and school budget cuts. As more parents are being asked to contribute basic classroom supplies, families are having to plan ahead and re-think their back-to-school shopping habits," said Shelley Solheim, director of financial education at Capital One. "The silver lining is that parents are talking more with their kids about shopping expectations, priorities and needs versus wants."
But, according to CNBC, the average family will spend about $688 in back-to-school shopping this year, a 14-percent increase from last year. Some of this spike may come from the rise in school supplies, but it is also an indicator that any targeted internet marketing campaign for back-to-school shopping will most likely provide a return on investment.
Back-to-school shopping is historically associated with the end of the summer sales that major retailers expect, which is a strategy which can be effective given its time-tested use. But, in addition, because more consumers are spending more time online than ever before, it may benefit companies to conduct small business internet marketing campaigns that promote both in-store benefits (i.e. deals or promotions only available at brick-and-mortar locations) as well as online benefits.
This can be done with Facebook updates and promotions, tweets about back-to-school promotions and well-placed banner advertisements that catch the attention of shopping families. In order for small businesses to effectively accomplish this, they may want to partner with an online advertising agency.