New ‘Back-to-School’ Report Findings Provide Insights for Brands on how to Implement Educational Resources and Support that Will Help Ease the Transition for Parents

Suzy, a leading real-time consumer insights platform that provides “actionable insights at the speed of culture,” today announced findings from their most recent research report that asked parents of school-aged children nationwide how they will undertake the new 2020-2021 school year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Done in collaboration with Crayola, The State of the Consumer: Preparing for an Uncertain School Year, found that as the school year quickly approaches, parents are preparing to take on a multitude of roles, creating new opportunities for brands to engage and support them.

The Back to School report found that parents across the nation are split on how they plan to tackle the new year and feel uncertainty, nervousness, panic, and worry mainly due to the implications of COVID-19. Despite 73% reporting that they are “trying” or “trying very hard” to maintain their pre-COVID-19 schedules, the reality is that 83% saw a change.

“This year, parents are also teachers, chefs, disciplinarians, and entertainers,” said Suzy President Avi Savar. “They are playing so many new roles and this new territory opens the door for brands to step in and provide value and resources as parents take on these new challenges.”

Virtual Learning

Of the parents surveyed, 89% believe their child(ren)’s schools are handling COVID “somewhat well” or “very well” in terms of communicating about the upcoming school year as well as learning options. In fact, 34% of schools have made a formal decision to teach classes in-person and virtually this year. Despite 33% expecting remote teaching to be better in the upcoming school year, parents remain hesitant on deciding whether to send their children to a physical campus.

The report found that the biggest reason for parents wanting to send their kids back to school is their desire to see their children receive the full scope of education. With only 37% of parents feeling as though their children have adapted well to online learning, it will become increasingly crucial for brands to offer tools that help parents feel empowered to drive more optimal learning outcomes.

Back-to-School Spending

When it comes to back-to-school spending, 30% of parents reported they had a standard list of items they purchase each year. Still, with the ever-changing status of school closures and COVID-related restrictions, 44% are holding off purchases while waiting to hear from schools/teachers on what school supplies are needed for the school year.

The Suzy report stated that electronics is the most popular category for school purchases this year. Suzy expects to see increased purchases from brands such as HP and Lenovo as well as increased use of online resources and apps for learning, such as ABC Mouse, Netflix, YouTube kids, Google, and Wikipedia.

Suzy also anticipates a shift in the purchasing of physical supplies. Parents who typically buy lunch boxes (38%) have reported that they will not purchase new ones this year. However, parents will continue to buy supplies necessary for completing homework, such as pens/pencils (72%), markers/crayons (68%), and notebooks/paper (68%).

“After learning that parents are counting on brands like ours to keep a sense of normalcy as they navigate these uncharted territories, Crayola will be shifting the way that we approach our in-store shopper strategy to support them,” said Rick Stringer, Vice President of Crayola Customer Leadership Center. “At Crayola, our purpose is to help parents and educators raise creative kids, and we will continue to provide resources and products that inspire students during the 2020-2021 school year.”

Suzy Says…

Does your media outlet have a burning question it would like Suzy to field quickly to parents about back-to-school? Please let us know by contacting Abel Flint, Senior Marketing Manager at Suzy, abel.flint@suzy.com.

About The Back to School Report with Crayola

The survey of 1,000 U.S. parents and 500 educators/school administrators was conducted online by Suzy in August 2020.

A complete presentation deck on The State of the Consumer: Preparing for an Uncertain School Year may be downloaded here.

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