Mintel estimates category was worth £1.16 billion in 2018, up 36% on previous year.
With the new school year approaching, Mintel has revealed that the back to school market was worth £1.16 billion in 2018 – up 36% on the £855 million it was worth the previous year.
Stationery saw the second highest increase in the category, with Brits spending a total of £100 million on items including notebooks, pens and pencil cases in 2018 – with no doubt some licensed lines making their way into the shopping basket. This figure was up from £65 million in the previous year, reported CWB.
“The value of Back to School spending has shot up in the last year,” said Samantha Dover, senior retail analyst at Mintel. “This is due to more parents buying non-clothing items, as well as an increase in the average amount being spent on school uniforms and shoes.
“Pressure continues to mount on parents to keep up with the latest trends. There has always been an appetite for branded products when buying things like trainers, bags and coats, which often aren’t part of the traditional uniform.”
Samantha continued: “However, this pressure is moving into new categories like computing equipment and stationery as parents are keen to ensure their children are keeping up with their peers. Price does remain a driving factor behind a lot of purchases.”
Parents said they spent an average of £134 on school uniforms and shoes in 2018 (up 6% on 2017), while they spent a total of £130 million on computing equipment last year (£80m in 2017).
Want to read more news like this? Simply sign up to our daily digest in the box below. You can also follow @LicensingSource on Twitter.
