UK Back to School Market Report 2024

The back-to-school shopping experience can be enhanced by creating opportunities for parents to bond with their children. Retailers can transform this shopping trip into an enjoyable ‘event’ where parents and kids can spend quality time together.

Back to School Market – Current Landscape

More than half of parents say they are more likely to buy tech devices for school with AI integrated into them than those without, highlighting the technologies’ current and future role in enhancing their children’s learning experiences. However, there remains general consumer concern about the technology, and six in ten of parents worry that reliance on AI tools reduces the need for traditional school supplies. This highlights a balance for retailers to consider, between using interest to drive demand but also being aware of the sensitivity of the technology in the learning environment.

Financial pressure continued to constrain spending on back-to-school products in 2024, impacting key categories like uniforms and shoes. Further recovery in confidence and financial position should mean a stronger back-to-school season in 2025, but parents will still look for cost-effective solutions, and alternative purchasing methods, like second-hand, will remain popular.

The need to keep costs down has driven heightened engagement in circular initiatives. Retailers must step up by streamlining access to second-hand items and simplifying the resale of used school supplies through online marketplaces.

Back to School Market Statistics

Back to school consumer behaviours: 66% of parents say they are more likely to buy tech devices for school with AI integrated into them than those without.
Back to school consumer behaviours: 79% of parents say they would use a platform to sell old school supplies their children no longer needed.

Back to School Market – What’s Inside?

Key Topics Analysed in the Report

The amount spent on back-to-school products in 2024, analysis of how this compares to previous years and the outlook for the 2025
Parents’ attitudes towards shopping for back-to-school items, and how retailers can reduce stress in the shopping journey
The complex and evolving role of AI tools in children’s learning journeys, and the potential for the technology to shape demand for tech devices in the back-to-school market
Parents’ interest in selling old school supplies, and how retailers can make this more streamlined
Standout back-to-school innovations and marketing campaigns in 2024

Report Scope

Mintel commissioned consumer research for this Report to assess shopping behaviours related to back to school. Research was carried out among internet users aged 16+ who are parents of children aged 4-17 and bought back-to-school items in September 2024.

Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis

Emily Viberg is a Retail analyst specialising in writing Mintel’s seasonal shopping and gifting reports.

Back-to-school shopping is a sentimental time for parents, offering retailers the chance to create experiences that encourage families to spend quality time together.

Emily Viberg
Retail analyst

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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for back to school
- Appeal to parents’ nostalgia through shopping experiences that allows them to bond with their children
- Elevate value credentials on school uniforms by integrating high-tech fabrics and multifunctionality
- Leverage social messaging platforms to optimise recycling of old back-to-school items
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Back-to-school spending drops 5.7% in 2024
- Graph 1: estimated spending on back-to-school products, 2020-24
- Spending down across essential back-to-school categories in 2024
- Graph 2: estimated spending on back-to-school products, by category, 2022-24
- Investment is needed in understanding the role of AI in education
- What consumers want and why
- Back-to-school purchasing held up well across categories in 2024
- Graph 3: back-to-school purchasing by category, 2022-24
- Back-to-school shopping should facilitate family quality time
- Graph 4: attitudes to shopping for back-to-school items, 2024
- Parents are keen to make back-to-school items weather adaptable and safe
- Graph 5: interest in back-to-school product innovations, 2024
- Parents’ attitudes towards AI tools is mixed
- Graph 6: attitudes towards AI when shopping for back-to-school items, 2024
- Parents upcycle back-to-school items to save money
- Graph 7: interest in recycling back-to-school items, 2024
- Retailer activity
- YouTubers KSI, Logan Paul and MrBeast launch Lunchable rival product in the US
- Asda Rewards launches first back-to-school loyalty programme giveaway
- Clearpay launches its Back2School campaign
Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Overview of back-to-school 2024
- Spending on back-to-school items falls 5.7% in 2024
- Spending down across essential back-to-school categories
- Graph 8: estimated spending on back-to-school items, by category, 2022-24
- Early bird discounts and price locks drive down spend on back-to-school essentials
- Uniforms and shoes account for a third of back-to-school spending
- Graph 9: estimated back-to-school spending as a % of total, 2024
- Specialists can stand out with personalised shopping experiences
- Price sensitivity encourages parents to turn to second-hand uniforms
- A wider use of technology in classrooms to fuel demand for enhanced computing equipment
- Outlook for back-to-school 2025
- Market drivers
- Concerns over the cost-of-living crisis persist
- Graph 10: perception of the state of the cost-of-living crisis in the UK, 2024
- Lower inflation rates help parents keep costs down
- Graph 11: CPI inflation rate, 2021-24
- Current financial wellbeing is fragile
- Graph 12: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-24
- Wavering future consumer confidence has hit bigger-ticket purchases
- Graph 13: the financial confidence index, 2016-24
- The impact of AI in education is just getting started…
- …but investment in understanding its benefits needs to come from organisations and retailers alike
- Government issues guidance on the cost of school uniforms in England
What Consumers Want and Why
- Amount spent on back-to-school and items purchased
- The vast majority of parents buy back-to-school items
- Back-to-school purchasing held up well across categories in 2024
- Graph 14: items purchased for back-to-school, 2022-24
- Retailers highlight value credentials on back-to-school essentials
- Stores remain the preferred way to shop for back-to-school items
- Graph 15: back-to-school shopping, by channel, 2022-24
- Shopping in store is more popular among parents with healthier finances
- In-store shopping is favoured across categories
- Graph 16: items purchased for back to school, by channel, 2022-24
- Spending slows across back-to-school essentials…
- …with higher-ticket still suffering from caution in discretionary areas
- Graph 17: back-to-school spending, 2022-24
- Buy-Now-Pay-Later options cater to confident online shoppers
- Attitudes to shopping for back-to-school products
- Back-to-school shopping should facilitate quality family time
- Leverage the store experience to strengthen the parent-child bond
- Make shopping for back to school a treat for parents and children
- Help Younger Millennial parents celebrate milestones throughout the school year
- Tap into parents’ sense of nostalgia with familiar and trusted school products
- Stationery categories are well positioned to tap into the nostalgia trend
- WHSmith taps into parents’ nostalgia during back-to-school 2024
- Interest in product innovations for back to school
- Parents are keen to make back-to-school items weather adaptable and safe
- Graph 18: future interest when shopping for back-to-school, 2024
- Combine style and adaptability in back-to-school clothing
- Parents with younger children are most interested in safety features
- Make back-to-school uniforms ‘smarter’
- Attitudes towards AI and back-to-school products
- Parents have mixed attitudes towards AI tools for learning
- AI tools need to promote learning benefits to sceptical parents
- Parents with healthy finances are open to school tech with AI features
- Position AI-enhanced tech devices as premium offerings
- Advocate for the importance of traditional school supplies over digital ones
- Filofax Reminder App helps make organising streamlined
- Attitudes towards selling and upcycled back-to-school items
- Parents upcycle back-to-school items to save money
- Help make pre-loved school uniforms accessible to parents across shopping channels
- Help Younger Millennial parents resell old school supplies
- Be creative on how recycling old school supplies can take shape
- Upgrade older school supplies through upcycling
Retailer Activity
- Launch activity and innovation
- YouTubers KSI, Logan Paul and MrBeast launch Lunchable rival product in the US
- Target’s School List Assist Tool available in app
- Asda Rewards launches first back-to-school loyalty programme giveaway
- ToeZone joins John Lewis’ back-to-school line-up
- Lush launches Freshers boxes
- Aldi launches back-to-school fund to support parents
- Crayola and L.O.L. Surprise! come together on a new collaboration
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Advertising spend between July and September 2023 totalled £216.1m
- Graph 19: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising from all retailers between July and September, 2020-24
- TV captured 31.7% of spend between July and September 2024
- Graph 20: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising by retailers between July and September, by media type, 2024
- Amazon remained the top ad spender between July and September 2024
- Graph 21: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising by the top spending retailers between July and September, 2024
- Key back-to-school campaigns
- Very introduces new ‘operation back-to-school’ campaign in 2024
- George at ASDA says ‘Bring It On’ with back-to-school campaign
- M&S brings to life the messy reality of back-to-school season
- Matalan embraces the chaos in 2024 back-to-school campaign
- Curry’s launches funny back-to-school ‘Laptop Rage’ campaign
- Clearpay launches its Back2School campaign
Appendix
- Report scope and definitions
- Data sources
- Abbreviations and terms
- Methodology
- Consumer research methodology
- Snoop SpendMapper methodology
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage

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