Early back to school sales activity heading in One Direction

By the end of July, most back to school supplies research will have been completed, according to Google Shopping data. The search engine reveals that searches for "back to school sales" began trending two weeks earlier this year than last. July is typically the month during which research for back to school items is undertaken while August is when purchases are made.

However, according to Google sales development manager, Jacalyn Stolt, a small group of consumers have already started making purchases.

Online shoppers are turning to their mobile devices in the search for back to school supplies and the ability to search and purchase across multiple devices is probably what is driving the early activity.

Two-thirds (66%) will use their smartphones on-the-go to aid in the search and purchase process, says Stolt, of which 64% will use them to compare prices and 43% will use them to search for in-store product availability.

"Back to school shoppers are price conscious and are looking for deals, with 94% of shoppers saying that a promotion or sale would persuade them to purchase a product," says Stolt, who also notes that sales were particularly attractive to consumers when considering the purchase of consumer electronics.

"Consumer electronics shoppers were more likely to make a purchase if there was a back to school promotion, free shipping offer, or one day sale," says Stolt. "Brands like Dell are promoting deals of the day and in-store pickup in Google search ads to help shoppers with their back to school shopping."

Google's data also revealed a penchant among consumers for One Direction-themed items. Top trending back to school searches on Google Shopping this month include:

- One Direction school supplies
- Messenger bags
- North Face school backpacks
- Personalized school supplies
- Nike Free 5.0 kids

Image via Shutterstock

Tags: back to school, ecommerce, Google, mobile, online shopping, trends