United Kingdom (UK) Back to School Retail Market – Analyzing Trends, Consumer Attitudes, Occasions and Key Players
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United Kingdom (UK) Back-to-School Retail Market Report Overview
Significant inflation across school uniform products forced consumers to spend more on back-to-school retail despite the best efforts of retailers. To deal with the situation, consumers have attempted to cut down their spending by purchasing secondhand items. This has been facilitated by a rise in secondhand sales and pop-up stores across the country, to help consumers battle the cost-of-living crisis. The increased popularity of sites such as Vinted has also supported secondhand sales as thousands of school uniform products have been listed on the app making it easy for parents to locate secondhand options for their children.
The United Kingdom (UK) Back-to-School Retail market research report offers a comprehensive insight into the consumer dynamics and spending habits of British consumers for back-to-school items. The report analyses the major players, the main trends, the key segments within the back-to-school retail market, and consumer attitudes.
| Key Segments | · Uniform
· Sportswear & Sports Equipment · Stationery · School Accessories · Books |
| Key Retailers | · ASDA
· Tesco · Marks & Spencer · WH Smith · Sainsbury’s |
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UK Back-to-School Retail Market Trends
Retailers came up with both online and in-store strategies to promote their products.
- Marks & Spencer: Marks & Spencer’s put a three-year price lock on certain items since 2021 to entice consumers seeking low prices and the reputed quality of the retailer. Side displays with marks for children to measure their height were an addition to keep shoppers entertained, as well as a potential nudge to shoppers to purchase multiple sizes of items.
- Sports Direct: Sports Direct’s focus for its back-to-school sale included several different product categories, with uniform and school shoes being prominently displayed on the homepage. The retailer’s affordable prices on sportswear brands’ accessories, clothing, and footwear ensure the retailer appeals to older children and teens. Having easy access to pages dedicated to specific age ranges and genders also makes navigating the website easy and less time-consuming for shoppers.
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UK Back-to-School Retail Market by Segments
The uniform segment had the highest percentage share in 2023.
The key segments in the UK back-to-school retail market are uniforms, sportswear & sports equipment, stationery, school accessories, and books.
Uniforms: This segment is further divided into trousers, dresses & skirts, shirts & blouses, underwear, blazers & jackets, sweaters, footwear, and accessories. ASDA is the most preferred retailer when shopping for uniforms, followed by Tesco. High street, town center, or in-town shopping center is the preferred channel while purchasing back-to-school uniforms. The top preferred store type for buying uniforms is supermarkets. Moreover, the most preferred device is mobile.
Sportswear & Sports Equipment: This segment is further divided into sportswear, sports footwear, and sports equipment. Sports Direct is the most preferred retailer and high street, town center, or in-town shopping center is the preferred channel for purchasing back-to-school sportswear and equipment. In 2023, the top preferred store type is supermarket, and the most preferred device is mobile.
UK Back-to-School Retail Market Analysis by Segments, 2023 (%)
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UK Back-to-School Retail Market - Competitive Landscape
Some of the key retailers in the UK back-to-school retail market are:
- ASDA
- Tesco
- Marks & Spencer
- WH Smith
- Sainsbury’s
UK Back-to-School Retail Market Analysis by Retailers
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Segments Covered in the Report
UK Back-to-School Retail Market Segments Outlook (2023)
- Uniform
- Sportswear & Sports Equipment
- Stationery
- School Accessories
- Books
Key Highlights
- High street channel usage for uniform and stationery purchases was down last year, while online channel usage for all categories except books was up. This was 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 second-hand 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 maximize 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.
Aldi
Amazon
Argos
ASDA
B&M
Blackwells
Boots
Claire's Accessories
Clarks
Co-op
Deichmann
DirectSchoolwear.co.uk
H&M
Home Bargains
JD Sports
John Lewis & Partners
Lidl
Marks & Spencer
Matalan
Morrisons
Next
Nike
Paperchase
Poundland
Primark
Ryman
Sainsbury's
School Uniform Direct
SchoolUniformShop.co.uk
Smiggle
Sports Direct
Staples
Superdrug
Tesco
The Book Depository
The Works
Uniform4Kids
Waitrose & Partners
Waterstones
WH Smith
Wilko
Wynsors
Yourschooluniform.com
Table of Contents
Table
Figures
Frequently asked questions
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What are the key segments in the UK back-to-school retail market?
The key segments in the UK back-to-school retail market are uniforms, sportswear & sports equipment, stationery, school accessories, and books.
-
Which is the leading segment in the UK back-to-school retail market in 2023?
The uniform segment has the highest percentage share in the UK back-to-school retail market in 2023.
-
Who are the key retailers in the UK back-to-school retail market?
Some of the key retailers in the UK back-to-school retail market are ASDA, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, WH Smith, and Sainsbury’s.
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