It may only be early August, but much to the chagrin of many schoolchildren, it's time to start thinking about heading back to school. This, of course, means back-to-school shopping.
According to a recent report from affiliate marketing network Commission Junction, back-to-school shoppers are typically inclined to take advantage of available tools to research and purchase products online. Many of them will use consulting search and price comparison engines to make their decisions, as well as coupon and cash-back websites.
This comes from Commission Junction's annual Back to School report for online retailers, which aims to give them insights on consumer trends and key shopping updates for the hectic shopping season. By analyzing past sales data, CJ found that an increasing number of consumers (approximately 30 percent) are using content websites for product discovery and shopping.
As a result, it seems that affiliate channels are well-suited to provide marketers with a chance to more effectively reach back-to-school shoppers at various touch points in the decision-making process.
For two years now, back-to-school sales have peaked in the fourth week of August (with a second surge in the first week of September), which this year will be between August 19 and 25. Consumer electronics, hardware, and software retailers all saw major spikes in the middle of August, while apparel purchases were more heavily concentrated at the end of the month.
