UK Back-to-School Market Report 2025
"Parents control back to school spending, but kids heavily influence purchase decisions. Retailers must balance this with parents' budgets and focus on essentials."
Emily Viberg, Retail analyst
UK Back-to-School Retail Market – Trends and Insights
- The back-to-school market saw strong engagement in 2025, with consumer spending increasing by 18%. A key driver was the prioritisation of technology to support digital learning, as parents continue to invest in devices for at-home education and show growing interest in AI-enhanced tools.
- While embracing digital education, parents are increasingly focused on managing their children’s digital habits. Smartphone bans in schools have sparked interest in simpler, low-distraction devices, creating opportunities for retailers to offer safer, more focused technology solutions.
- Over half of parents report that their children introduce them to new brands or products, highlighting the growing influence of children in purchasing decisions. This influence is expanding into new categories, such as skincare and cosmetics, driven by rising interest among teens and tweens.
- Retailers must navigate the balance between catering to children’s preferences and recognising that parents remain the ultimate decision-makers. Offering products that appeal to both groups will be key to capturing this market.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Estimated consumer spending on back to school supplies in 2025
- How parents shopped for back to school items and what they purchased
- The influence of children on parents’ back to school shopping behaviours
- The impact of digital-first classrooms on parents’ spending priorities for back to school tech equipment
- How retailers can re-engage parents across the academic year to maintain sales in back to school categories
- The impact of smartphone bans in schools and changing legislation on helping parents create safer online habits for children
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for back to school
- Opportunities
- Be proactive in re-engaging with parents across the academic year
- DIY customisations can enhance appeal of basic phones
- Be the mediator between parents and kids during back to school shopping
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THE MARKET
- Snapshot – market size
- Back to school purchasing remains strong
- Back to school spending grows 18% year-on-year
- Spending on computer equipment drives growth
- Parents face pressure for school-branded items
- Inflation pressures mixed across back to school categories
- Graph 1: inflation on selected back to school categories, 2025
- Help parents support digital learning with affordable tech
- Netflix’s Adolescence screens in secondary school
- Government investment in after-school clubs to boost key categories
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THE CONSUMER
- Approaches to shopping for back to school
- Parents look to spread costs across the year
- Make replenishing supplies easy and streamlined
- Re-engage parents during key seasonal holidays to stock up on essentials
- Most parents are omnichannel shoppers
- Social media boosts online shopping but fuels pressures to keep up with trends
- Fathers are also trend-led back to school shoppers
- Graph 2: role of social media on back to school shopping behaviours, by gender, 2025
- Influence of children on back to school shopping
- Kids’ undeniable influence on back to school shopping
- Kids’ have an undeniable influence on back to school shopping
- Younger parents drive BPC buying for children
- Clarity on age-appropriate products is needed across the beauty industry
- Children’s influence on back to shopping is stronger on fathers
- Graph 3: influence of children on back to school shopping behaviours, by parent status, 2025
- The impact of smartphone bans in schools
- Schools smartphone bans boost interest in dumb phones
- Help younger parents manage kids’ screen time at home
- Fathers drive concerns around smartphone screen time
- Graph 4: impact of school smartphone bans on back to school behaviours, by gender, 2025
- Financially comfortable parents lead interest in low-tech phones
- Low-tech phones that make a statement
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RETAILER ACTIVITY
- Retailers freeze uniform prizes to help reduce costs…
- Stationery retailers launch Halloween specials just in time for half-term
- Retailers highlight exclusive member card prices
- Retailers help customise back to school shopping
- Harvey Norman highlights enhanced AI tech
- GoHenry empowers financially smart kids
- Retailers champion children’s voices for self-expression in back to school campaign
- Tom’s Studio pens have their own Spotify playlist
- Tesco Mobile launches The Great British Phone Switch
- EE launches new safer sims campaign to support parents getting their child’s first smartphone
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APPENDIX
- The market
- Back to school market size 2020-25
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Other data source methodologies
- Mintel Spark
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
- Abbreviations
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