- The most important criteria when choosing products will be price (67%) and quality (61%). This is related to the fact that as many as 90% of respondents have noticed an increase in the costs associated with buying a child's school kit and most will look for promotions and sales (72%). The most popular is "buy one, get one free" (49%).
- Biedronka (39%) will be the most popular stationary store for buying notebooks, writing and art supplies, while online – Allegro.pl (42%). This marketplace is also the most popular place on the web to buy textbooks (32%), and among stationary points, the first place in this category is occupied by Empik (23%).
Shopping in August, budget up to PLN 600
Nearly 80% of parents start shopping for school supplies in August, with the majority of respondents (32%) already at the beginning of the month – most often young parents aged 25-34 (43%). The vast majority of respondents (73%) want to spend up to PLN 600 on this purpose, with respondents most often indicating that their budget is from PLN 201 to PLN 400 (34%) and between PLN 401 and PLN 600 (32%). The results of the study also show that women are more thrifty in this area than men. When buying school supplies, as many as 75% of parents want to take advantage of financial support programs. Interestingly, as many as 11% of respondents did not know about their existence.
– The decision to spread out the shopping over time can be interpreted as a signal that for many people, the layette is a noticeable expense. Additionally, in September, parents may also incur the costs of insurance, class contributions or additional classes, which means that shopping earlier helps to spread the financial burden. On the other hand, the activity of Google search engine users shows that every year the popularity of the "layette" topic peaks only at the turn of August and September, so while we can start shopping earlier, we often finish it just before the first bell – says Maciej Sobieszek, Media Strategy Director at dentsu Polska.
Parents most often buy notebooks and writing utensils
Parents want to spend their school kit budget primarily on notebooks (87%), writing utensils (76%) and art supplies (61%). Interestingly, books (57%), despite being the most expensive and most needed item, were only in fourth place and were more often indicated by men than women (67% vs. 48%). The survey results also show that the percentage of indicating this answer increases with the age of the parents – in the 25-34 age group it was chosen by 50% of respondents, and in the over 55 age group by as many as 71%.
The opposite relationship can be observed in the case of art supplies – among respondents aged 25 to 34, the answer was selected by 84% of respondents, among those over 55 – 39%. The same is true for the purchase of backpacks and pencil cases – 75% of the youngest parents (aged 25-34) want to buy them for their children, and only 41% of the oldest (over 55) want to buy them.
School supplies expenses (photo: dentsu Poland)
We buy notebooks and accessories in stores, textbooks online
As the dentsu Polska study shows, parents will be more likely to buy notebooks, writing and art supplies in stores than online, the opposite is true for textbooks.
In the photo: Maciej Sobieszek (photo: press materials)
– Discount chains have long had a seasonal non-food offer, which also includes school supplies before the start of the school year. The wide availability of chain stores means that we can buy school supplies where we do our daily shopping, during the same visit to the store. This is a convenient solution, and additionally strong communication of low prices encourages the choice of offline shopping in a discount store – points out Maciej Sobieszek from dentsu Polska.
The study shows that parents are most likely to buy notebooks and school supplies at Biedronka (39%), followed by: Lidl (25%), Auchan (20%), local stationery stores (16%), Empik (15%), Carrefour (14%) and Pepco (14%). The study also shows that the younger the respondents, the more often they chose Biedronka and Lidl – these stores were indicated by 44% and 26% of people aged 25-34, respectively, while in the 55+ group, it was 28% and 20%, respectively.
What we are thinking about school (photo: dentsu Polska)
A similar relationship can be observed in the case of place of residence – the smaller the town, the greater the popularity of Biedronka – as many as 46% of rural residents will do their school supplies shopping in this discount store, and among people from cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants – 29%. On the other hand, respondents over 55 years of age most often indicate Auchan (29%). In turn, parents who plan to buy notebooks and school supplies for their children online most often indicated Allegro.pl (42%) and Empik.pl (23%).
The podium looks similar in the case of online textbook purchases – respondents plan to order them on Allegro.pl (32 percent) and Empik.com (28 percent). The third most popular website was TaniaKsiazka.pl (19 percent).
The ranking of stationary places where parents want to buy textbooks may come as a bit of a surprise – while the first place here is occupied by Empik (23%), it is closely followed by local bookstores (21%), as well as personal purchases of second-hand textbooks (16%).
Beginning of the school year = new wardrobe for kids
– For several years, the so-called Back to School has been, next to Christmas and Black Week, another intensive shopping season, going beyond basic school supplies. This year, in connection with children's return to school, 70% of parents plan to buy new shoes for their children, and nearly 60% of clothes. In the case of clothes, the upcoming autumn, which requires a change of wardrobe, is also important. However, stores prepare offers addressed not only to parents and children, but also create an atmosphere of another shopping opportunity for everyone – says Maciej Sobieszek.
Most respondents prefer to buy shoes, clothes and backpacks in stores rather than online, which is probably related to the need for children to try on or see these items. For this purpose, almost 30% of parents want to visit stores of individual brands, such as H&M, Zara or Nike, and 18% will make purchases at Pepco. In turn, when shopping online, they will most often choose Allegro.pl (40%), stores of individual brands (19%), as well as Empik.com (14%) and Eobuwie.pl (14%).
Price is the most important criterion
When choosing products for school supplies, parents primarily pay attention to price (67%), quality (61%) and the child's preferences (58%). Men more often than women attach importance to brand (19% vs. 12%) and quality (65% vs. 58%). In turn, mothers more often than fathers are guided by promotion (33% vs. 26%).
Also in the case of choosing a brick-and-mortar store to buy a layette, price (63%) and quality (52%) are the most important factors. However, promotions and discounts (48%) are in third place here, with the importance of this criterion gradually decreasing with the age of the respondents. Of all age groups, product quality is the most important for people aged 25 to 34 (70%). Only 19% of parents are guided by the location of the store, which may suggest that they are willing to travel further if it meets the three most important criteria.
Criteria for choosing a layette (photo: dentsu Polska)
It is a bit different in the case of online stores – while price still plays the biggest role (64%), promotions and discounts come second (46%), and quality comes third (45%). Again, women attach much greater importance to promotions and discounts than men (53% vs. 39%).
– Our analyses show that consumers often have no problem changing their place of purchase if they can get a better deal that way. The importance of price therefore translates into the communication of stores, which convince that above all, they are cheap – comments Maciej Sobieszek, Media Strategy Director at dentsu Polska.
Consumers see price increases and focus on promotions
90% of parents have noticed an increase in the costs associated with purchasing school supplies for their child, with as many as 60% declaring that the increase is significant. The respondents deal with this aspect in various ways – the most popular is looking for promotions and sales (72%). Some have also decided to start shopping earlier to spread the costs (34%), while others have opted for cheaper substitutes (24%).
When asked whether they plan to take advantage of promotions when buying school supplies, 86% of respondents answered affirmatively. They most often learn about them from promotional leaflets (47%), mobile applications (30%), as well as loyalty programs (25%) and information posted in brick-and-mortar stores (24%). However, leaflets are definitely more popular among women than men (52% vs. 42%), and information in stores reaches people aged 55+ to the greatest extent (39%).
When buying school supplies, parents most often use the “buy one, get one free” promotion (49%), direct price reductions on products (41%), “buy one, get one half price” (33%) and percentage discounts on selected items or entire product groups, e.g. books (26%). Cross-promotions are the least popular – only 8% of respondents selected this answer.
– Shops are offering more and more ways to get better prices, and while they are beneficial for consumers, they reduce margins for businesses. It is therefore also worth focusing on building a strong brand, which is one of the main factors reducing price sensitivity of customers, because then they are more willing to choose a product precisely because of the brand, and not because it is the cheapest – sums up Maciej Sobieszek.
The study for dentsu Polska was conducted by Norstat on July 26-30, 2024 using the CAWI method on the Norstat research panel on a group of 1,009 parents of children aged 7-18, representative of the Polish population aged 25-81 (in terms of gender, age and place of residence).
