Pandora Listeners Shop Early for Back-to-School

From school supplies and dorm decorations, to the latest clothing and fashion, there is no shortage of retail activity during the final months of summer as consumers prepare for a new school year. Parents and students alike have a vested interest in researching and purchasing items they feel will bring success in all their future educational endeavors.

At Pandora, 46% of our listener base (A18+) falls into what we've deemed the “back-to-school audience,” made up of 33% parents of current students and 16% students enrolled in higher education programs. Directly following the 4th of July holiday, we asked these listeners to tell us whether they had already started the back-to-school shopping process or not. With 4-8 weeks left before class begins (depending on the school district or university), the purchasing trends we collected in this survey definitely quality as early-bird shopping.

What we discovered is that by early July, nearly half of our back-to-school listeners are already in the shopping mindset. And between parents and students, students take the lead for researching and purchasing products early--especially using digital methods. See more of our findings in the infographic below:

Even with all of this shopping activity, our survey also revealed that only 5% of Pandora’s back-to-school audience is done shopping. That leaves 24% who still have more to do and 65% who haven’t even started! So it’s never too late to brush up on your back-to-school marketing best practices--either for this year or to get ahead for next year. Because let’s be honest, knowledge is power when it comes to both education AND marketing. Download a copy of our eBook, Summer Break Means Back-to-School for Marketers, today. ^{SOURCE: Pandora Soundboard, Back-to-School Poll I and II, A18+ (N=1,248, 1,254), July 2017}