Back to School by the Numbers
Get seasonal insights on the Back-to-School Hub >
With $75 billion spent in 2014, back-toschool is the second-largest retail season.1
For back-to-college adult shoppers, online
shopping grew 20% last year.1
$75B
2
#
38% of back-to-school and 45% of back-tocollege shoppers plan to shop online.1
38%
45%
%20
More than 60% of moms use smartphones to
shop for back-to-school items, with nearly half
using their devices to search for coupons.4
60%
And it isn’t a last-minute shopping season.
2/3 of shoppers begin at least three weeks
before school starts.1 Search volume for
backpacks and clothing peaks in late July and
for computers and laptops in late August.2
Conversions on mobile-optimized sites are
160% greater than on non-optimized mobile
sites5 and 1 in 4 back-to-school shoppers plan
to redeem coupons directly from their phone.1
July and August
160%
Target the most popular search
categories with Product Ads
Top categories include:
Laptops, backpacks, girls’ clothing, and
textbooks are among the top category
searches on Yahoo and Bing.3
• Luggage & Bags > Backpacks
• Electronics > Computers > Laptops
• Office Supplies > General Supplies
• Apparel & Accessories > Clothing
• Apparel & Accessories > Clothing Accessories
1. National Retail Federation, Monthly Consumer Survey, July 2014. 2. Microsoft internal query data on Owned &
Operated, PC, lo-fi &hi-fi Mobile, Tablets. Data range: 5/31/2014 to 10/3/2014 3. Source: Microsoft internal query
data on Owned & Operated, PC, lo-fi &hi-fi Mobile, Tablets. Data range: 5/31/2014 to 10/3/2014. Represented data
does not include brand terms. 4. Punchtab survey, Back-To-School Shopping & Decision-Making Moms, July 2014.
5. Internet Retailer, Mobile shoppers convert 160% more often on sites optimized for smartphones, October 1, 2014.