After the holidays — the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years trifecta that is every retailer’s busiest season — the ‘back to school’ time period makes up the second-biggest selling period in the year. With sales totaling $68 billion last year, back to school sales surpassed those of Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween combined. To take advantage of the huge amount of sales you can reap from this time of year, it is best to start planning and stocking up months in advance. Here are some of the best-selling back to school categories that you should consider looking into so you can enjoy the end-of-Summer sales boost.
Fashion: Clothes shopping for a bunch of kids can be a hassle in stores, so more and more parents are turning to the internet to make their lives easier. Make sure you have the latest clothing and accessory trends in stock and target your advertising to draw in busy parents.
Electronics and Accessories: From laptops all the way down to cell phone cases, this category is ripe with opportunities when it comes to the back to school time of year. Kids going to college may need new laptops, or parents of younger kids may be considering purchasing them a cell phone to make sure they can stay safe. Tablets are also big sellers, as they are often more cost-effective than a laptop and easier to carry around at school. Stocking these items and their accessories, such as cases, headphones, and chargers, can definitely help your profits grow.
School Supplies: This one seems obvious but it’s worth mentioning. Pencils, notebooks, organizers, pens, locker shelves and mirrors, organizer tabs, folders, crayons, colored pencils, markers, glue sticks, and scissors are just a few of the low-cost, high-profit items you can cash in on this time of year. Hint: What movies or TV shows are popular? Notebooks and folders with popular characters or celebrities on them sell quickly!
Beauty: Like clothes and accessories, beauty items help kids feel good about themselves as they head back to school. Makeup kits, hair accessories, lotions, and scented body sprays are all good investments.
Dorm Room Products: College kids moving out on their own for the first time need a lot of supplies, from room decor to toiletries to bed linens. Stocking these and optimizing your search to make them easy for harried parents and students to find can really pad your bottom line.
Sports: With school getting back in gear, sports teams are also assembling. Football pads, workout clothes, tennis shoes, and all kinds of sports balls are all in high demand as practice starts up again.
Take the time to research wholesale items in each of the categories to find the options that work best for your business, then load up to take advantage of the sales to be had during the back to school season!
