More than six out of 10 (62%) Irish parents start preparing for their child’s new school year more than a month in advance, according to the latest Consumer Insights survey by Empathy Research.
Of 236 parents surveyed, Mums are more likely (67%) that Dads (57%) to start their back to school shopping well in advance. Just 6% of parents surveyed leave the back to school shopping to a week before school starts, including 9% of Dads and 3% of Mums.
The top priorities for school shopping lists are books and accessories for two-thirds of parents, followed by school clothes and shoes (37%). Lunch options were the last priority with just 3% of parents naming it as near the top of their list, while other priorities named included organising transport, school payments/fees and organising work/home schedules.
When it comes to buying a school uniform, most parents buy the whole uniform in one store, with half choosing to shop in a department store. However, Mums (61%) are more likely to buy school uniforms from department stores than dads (41%). Parents of primary school students also are more likely to shop in departments stores compared to parents of secondary school students (56% primary school vs. 40% secondary school).
However, 17% of parents said that they will buy uniforms from supermarkets, while 15% said they will buy them at discounters. This was shown to be slightly higher among parents of primary school children compared to secondary school children, with 16% of parents of primary school children shopping in discounters compared to 11% of parents of secondary school children.
When asked if they noticed more promotions on back to school items, almost half (47%) of the parents surveyed have seen an increase since last year, with younger parents being more aware of them than older parents. Over two-thirds (69%) of parents under 35 years have noticed more promotions on back to school items than last year, which is higher than all other age groups; 35-44 years (46%) and 45+ years (36%).
Regionally, Dubliners noticed more back to school promotions (51%) than others with 45% of Rest of Leinster, 46% of Munster and 48% of Connacht/Ulster.
Click here for more information from Empathy Research.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Genna Patterson
{loadposition ri26082014}
