Rakuten Marketing Reports 2016 'Back-to-School' Retail & Consumer Shopping Trends

SAN MATEO, Calif., Aug. 29, 2016

Among the most notable findings in this year's 'back to school' report is the marked disparity between advertising strategies parents recognize as influential and the actual ad performance seen by retailers. More than 50 percent of parents surveyed ranked social as one of the least effective ad platforms, as compared to other more traditional channels. This contradicts general industry data, as most social platforms have doubled ad revenue over the past two years (eMarketer, 2016), and advertiser spend on social, specifically for the 'back to school' season, is exceeding all other digital channels.

According to Bridget Fletcher, VP, Marketing, Rakuten Marketing, "We've seen social conversions grow 56 percent in the last year, which is mirrored across the industry, so consumers are undoubtedly influenced by social advertising and influencers. We believe parents don't always distinguish native advertisements from organic content in their social feeds, or are not as aware of upper-funnel touchpoints influencing their behavior. The way that ads integrate with social media creates seamless and personalized consumer experiences, making social media a powerful advertising platform."

Other key findings in the Rakuten Marketing Digital Insights Report for the 2016 'back to school' shopping season are as follows:

• General industry data show more and more parents are shopping online, however, based on Rakuten's survey data, approximately 85% of parents engaged in 'back to school' shopping plan to purchase 'in-store.'
• Shopping and browsing behavior continues to grow online and there is an increasing shift to mobile where nearly 60 percent of shopping parents are transacting via a mobile device. Interestingly, males are 22 percent more likely to purchase from a mobile device versus females.
• Competitive pricing is five times more important to parents than brand name goods, shopping convenience and shopping channel. Advertisers recognize cost concerns, however less than half are tailoring 'back-to-school' promotions based on price or brand. Topping the 'back-to-school' shopping lists are required school items, which 45 percent of parents indicate is the leading influence of their purchase decisions.
• Back-to-school ad campaigns have been actively running since Independence Day, but August is historically the peak month for 'back-to-school' shopping. In 2015, 50 percent of shoppers were still 'back-to-school' shopping as of mid-August. Labor Day was the number one ''back-to-school purchase day in 2014.

Rakuten Marketing Digital Insights (RMDI) publishes key research to empower data-driven marketers and e-commerce executives. Our insights come from select leading industry and anonymized client data sources to drive decisions that deliver results. Download the full Rakuten Marketing Digital Insights report here. For additional information on Rakuten Marketing and its suite of integrated digital marketing solutions, visit rakutenmarketing.com.

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Rakuten Marketing is a division of Rakuten Inc. (4755: TOKYO), one of the world's leading Internet service companies. The company is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in Australia, Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, and throughout the United States. Follow us on Twitter or learn more at http://www.rakutenmarketing.com