Here we are in the latter half of August, when backpacks, binders, pens and pencils increasingly find their way to store checkout lines.

Canadian kids go back to school in just a few weeks, and an Ebates survey conducted in early June reveals some interesting insights, including:

• The average spend-per-child for 2019 is $168, up from $166 in 2018,
• 49% of respondents feel online shopping reduces back-to-school shopping hassles (vs. last year’s 42%),
• 77% of dads and 66% of moms intend to do their buying online,
• 70% of parents will search various retailers’ sites for the best deals; 53% search for online coupons and promo codes, 41% use cash back sites, 38% sign up for email sales and promotion notifications, and 33% use social media to find deals, and
• 78% of shoppers buy their kids’ supplies in August or early September, when they perceive the deals will be better.

You can read the full survey here. Knowing consumers’ sopping habits can help retailers – and e-tailers – plan their Canadian back-to-school promotions for maximum effectiveness.

And speaking of preparing kids for school…

Subscription clothing services have taken another interesting turn. Nike recently launched Nike Adventure Club, a subscription service designed to make shoe shopping easier for parents with growing children. Under the program, Nike will send new shoes to the subscriber monthly or quarterly (depending on the level purchased), along with an ‘adventure kit’ of games and activities for children and their parents. Twice a year Nike will arrange for parents to return their kids’ worn shoes; footwear in good repair will be donated to families in need, and worn shoes will be recycled through the Nike Grind program.

More info about the Adventure Club is available here here. It’s an interesting program, one that can not only be a boon to parents with growing kids, but also for shoppers geared toward sustainable purchasing.

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