BACK-TO-SCHOOL TRENDS / 24
DISCLAIMER
The following research has been appropriately collated and sourced, with references provided throughout, while general opinions are considered ownership of the author.
Assessing the Current Landscape
The current rate of inflation is 2% in the UK, while Office for National Statistics figures show core inflation excluding food, energy, alcoholic drinks and tobacco remains unchanged at 3.5%. Inflation in the services sector also remains steady at 5.7%. In the United States (US), The current annual inflation rate currently stands at 3%, but showed more decline between the months of May and June.
Today, brands are switching up their objectives in line with Gen Alpha and Gen Z culture, social issues and economic impacts pertaining to back-to-school.
As we witnessed in 2023, consumers have begun decisively shopping earlier in the year to grab seasonal sales ahead of back-to-school. As part of its 2024 Global Holiday Season Consumer Behaviour Report, Bazaarvoice makes predictions from 2,000 UK consumers out of 8,000 globally; that the hustle and bustle is set to really make haste during July.
Let’s not forget about Amazon Prime Day which kicked off between 16-17 July. The two-day spectacle included mega deals on electronics, through to clothing and homeware. This year, Amazon offered up to 75% off a selection of branded headphones, alongside low prices on toothbrushes, mobile phones, Amazon music membership and more!
In line with back-to-school trends, consumers are likely to purchase holiday season gifts to avoid wait times and added expenses during the winter months.
Ecommerce will be utilised by consumers, shopping online being among the favoured for purchasing products, while social media will be considered by younger generations, including TikTokShop/Marketplace and Instagram.
Check out AFRG cyber security training material recommendations
2023 Summary
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), ‘Retail Holiday and Seasonal Trends’ report, in 2023, consumers showed signs of resilience during the cost-of-living crisis, impacting society’s economic outlook. For back-to-school and back-to-college, NRF emphasised record spending, as part of a larger survey of 8,000 consumers and products involving K-12 through to college students.
On average there was a strong increase in electronic items bought since 2022, linking to digitisation, alongside furnishing, clothing and accessories. 43 percent of shoppers agreed they needed more of these items, with a third suggesting they spend more because of price hikes and effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. Coinciding, there was a general increase in electronic use, such as smartphones, laptops, iPads, and tablets for easier integration with how students learn by means of ‘zoom classrooms’, submitting assignments through learning portals online, and general pressures to have the latest technology when interacting with friends.
Blending in-person and virtual learning through technology became a back-to-school essential in 2023. Laptops, tablets, and digital tools took centre stage as students navigated the complexities of modern education. For example, e-books and eLearning within online interactive platforms, caused rising demand for these “tech-savvy gadgets”.
In total, NRF predicted back-to-school trends would reach USD$41.5B(GBP£32B) in 2023, up from USD$36.9B (GBP£29B) in 2022. Discounts and promotions remained prevalent this year, with many consumers shopping around and considering options such as trading down, reselling items, thrifting and only buying essential items.
2024 Clothing trends
Retail calendars will no longer be as effective, with students, parents and children wanting to shop for their back-to-school essentials when they decide to. In August 2023, 60% of K-12 parents reported making footwear purchases “close to the start of school,” according to Circana.
Because promotional activity doesn’t align solely with seasonal trading anymore, underpinned by sales taking place throughout the year; impact will continue to decline, instead one could argue the ‘influencer effect’ on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok will be the main drivers for younger generations to shop for their back-to-school pieces.
TikTok have released its annual back-to-school trends report, detailing how the platform will be prioritising content for ultimate visibility (#BackToSchool). Children have officially broken up for their 6 weeks holidays, however while some may take this time to relax, TikTok shares its guide to creating impactful campaigns. By August, TikTok predict 37% of users will be shopping for back-to-school, marking this time as crucial for content creators and influencers to push products (top categories include clothing, accessories, food, personal care, technology and beauty). Overall, 1 in 7 internet users will purchase or subscribe to a retailer because of seeing it through TikTok discovery within 30 days, and 68% will likely visit TikTok with the same intentions.
This does not just apply to children, parents will prioritise shopping on TikTok for school supplies, app subscriptions and clothing as well. A recent survey by consulting company Deloitte shared that parents will spend USD$11 more (GBP£8.5) than 2023, averaging USD$586 (GBP£453)per child in 2024. Alongside this, children are being enrolled into after school activities at a higher rate than 2023, meaning in 2024 retailers should take advantage of extra spending by parents on non-essential items by revamping the customer journey and making the shopping experience pleasing.
2024 and Cyber Security
Education and retail are two of the top industries consistently witnessing a rise in cyber attacks and cyber security threats in the last years, underpinned by ransomware, data breaches and supply chain compromise. Security researchers believe this ties in with heavy reliance on IT infrastructure for daily operations – similar to other industries globally.
A shift to online learning and remote working during the pandemic, led children, and young students to attend classes through online platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, potentially increasing prevalence of access points for threat actors seeking to steal personally identifiable information (PII) including medical records, email addresses, and payment data.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recently reviewed its shopping and paying safely report, offering guidance when browsing online, making sure to check the website is legitimate by checking the URL domain, limit information shared at checkout by only entering what is required, and reporting phishing to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Because TikTok and Instagram will be top platforms influencing children (under the age of 14 being the biggest targets), students and parents ahead and during back-to-school purchasing, it is important to identify scams. The top types of activity preying on victims will include fake giveaways (mystery box prizes and fake promotions) offering extreme amounts of money off, bot accounts and synthetic identities (creating false personas, possibly mimicking influencers through duplicate accounts with a blue tick to seem authentic). It is important that in the case of more than one account sharing the same name, bio, images and products, search for comments within the community proving which account is legitimate through buyer/seller ratings, and search outside of the main platform to other social media sites for confirmation.
Mystery Box Example:
In March 2024, Action Fraud received over 7,000 reports of fake emails impersonating well-known retail brands, with claims of giving away a ‘mystery box’ full of free prizes. Within the emails, an address and phone number can be used to make contact, however users are urged to go directly to the legitimate website and communicate with customer support.
Amazon was targeted by a ‘mystery box scam’ in February 2024, luring unsuspecting customers through email and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Video ads promoting boxes filled with high-price products for low costs created willingness from users to click on the link included in the video caption, redirecting to a fake website using Amazon’s logo, web design and stock images to lure them into entering details at checkout.
Malicious Websites:
In June 2024, security researchers identified emergence of more than 1,200 new domains associated with Amazon, 85% suspected to be malicious. If you’re shopping online this year, avoid clicking directly on links received through email or SMS message. Instead you can hover over the link to see where it takes you. Or simply go straight to the legitimate site via Google search.
Student Tax Scams:
For students starting university, this can be an exciting time to invest in your future. However, scammers prey on young and naive individuals, with phone calls, SMS messages and emails impersonating organisations such as HMRC to discuss unpaid student tax, asking for immediate wire transfer of funds. This also applies to any students receiving scholarship and bursary funds to help with tuition and living expenses, scammers may try and manipulate the process by creating bogus applications asking for personal details and administrative costs.
Audience-Specific Recommendations:
Actions for Parents and Children:
The UK government has introduced free training resources, first published online in August 2023 as students prepare to head back-to-school in September, encouraging cyber skills learning and aspirations among children.
Passwords - private and sharing them can put your data, identity and devices at risk. Children may find it tempting to share passwords with their friends, but this is not cyber secure.
Advise and help your children to:
Set secure passwords through a password manager, passphrase
and not share or reuse passwords or passphrases.
Cyber Essentials and Cyber First - government websites can teach parents, teachers and education organisations how to stay protected.
Report Scam activity to ActionFraud.
Software updates - Antivirus can be downloaded onto devices.
Download and use a VPN to hide location/hide IP and physical location (Google Play Store and Apple Store have free versions including some features on NordVPN).
CyberSprinters is an educational game for 7–11 year olds by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre.
MFA is when you use two or more proofs of identity to log in. For example, using your login details as well as an authentication code. Additional forms of MFA include a PIN, secret question, fingerprint, biometrics (also helps protect against deepfakes/AI). Authenticator App (Microsoft downloadable from Google Play Store and Apple Store), and SMS notification.
Actions for Schools, Higher Education and Institutions:
In the UK, CyberFirst Schools & Colleges is an initiative set up by the NCSC and GCHQ, delivered by IN4 Group in the Northwest, to encourage a diverse range of young people in their pursuit of a cyber career. CyberFirst also hosts bursary schemes to support undergraduates through university, degree apprenticeship opportunities, and girls only competitions.
AFRG CLUB will soon be joining CyberFirst as an ‘Industry Member’ ready to collaborate with the education section to help younger generations have a seat at the table, alongside sharing knowledge with industry professionals and public members.
Overall, K-12 through to higher education and university institutions must consider and ensure employees, faculty, visitors attending in-person activities and students learning on campus and within online environments, are well adverse about cyber risks and have access to the appropriate resources. Sharing tools, building a community, and remaining curious in the field of cyber is our best chance at keeping protected against the symptoms of modern life – technology has grown more free-spirited overtime, and it’s up to us to stay updated.
Actions for Industry Professionals (IT, Cyber Security Analysts), Third-Party Organisations and Government
The Stay Safe Online: Top Tips for staff is a free training taking 30 minutes, introduced by the National Cyber Security Centre, aimed at small and medium sized organisations, charities and the voluntary sector.
Update and install the latest patches on vulnerable / outdated software systems,
Employ phishing awareness training and ensure employees know they can use the ‘Report Phishing’ option in Outlook,
Endpoint security solutions such as network segmentation and firewalls,
Backup data using the 3-2-1 rule (a.k.a. two copies stored online, and one copy of data in an offline environment).
Microsoft has released its top tips for IT teams to help cyber security in schools this summer. For example, assessing vulnerability impact using tooling against critical assets and systems, profiling threat actors most likely to target the industry, organisational impact assessment, employing incident response and protecting student devices / endpoints from phishing and malware using specific AI-powered software.
