Back-to-school season spurs surge in retail and e-commerce sales

As students prepare for the upcoming academic year, retailers and stationery companies are also getting ready for a spike in demand. The April to June quarter is a peak period for back-to-school shopping, significantly boosting sales for stationery brands like ITC and DOMS, laptop manufacturers such as Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung, and retailers like Reliance Retail's Smart Bazaar stores. According to industry experts, this surge results in sales that are five times higher than usual.

The spending category covers a wide range of items, including basics like pencils and paper as well as high-tech electronics, like laptops and tablets. During this period, notebooks, school bags, lunch boxes, geometry boxes, pencils, and sharpeners are in high demand, with the average purchase amount estimated at Rs 2,000.

A typical back-to-school shopping basket from April to June includes 10-14 notebooks, school bags, tiffin boxes, water bottles, and additional items like pens and pencils. Throughout the rest of the year, purchases are mainly fragmented and consist primarily of these ancillary products.


For the country's largest stationery player ITC, which markets Classmate: "Q1 and Q4 are the season quarters for notebooks, with a significant part of the year's business done in these quarters," the company's Divisional Chief Executive, education and stationery, Vikas Gupta, told TOI. Classmate notebooks are one of the largest selling categories for the company.

The domestic stationery and art materials market can be segmented into school, office and others, with the school segment accounting for more than half of the demand. Players with value-added products and/or with innovative and differentiated offerings have been able to fortify their market share, industry experts said.

Character series merchandise is popular among school-going kids. "Marvel and Avenger series character merchandise in the category in collaboration with Disney is the rage among school children at Reliance Retail's Smart Bazaar stores this year. Along with attractive pricing and robust in-store promotions, the creation of combo packs - for instance, lunch and pencil boxes, water bottle sets - are among the many factors driving sales," said a senior industry executive.

A Pen & Stationery Association of India official said, "The period, May to July is peak, with a sales spike of about 30 per cent in stationery and writing instruments''. Overall the market size is around Rs 60,000 crore, of which over 40% is school consumption.

E-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart, retail chains like Reliance Digital and Croma, and companies like Dell, HP, and Samsung offer promotions on tablets and laptops during this period. Flipkart's 'Back to Campus' campaign, which runs from May to July, features deals on student-oriented categories including laptops, tablets, and accessories (like printers and monitors), leading to a demand surge that is twice as high as on regular days.

"A similar trend is visible for other student-related purchases", said Manjari Singhal, head of business for FMCG and general merchandise, Flipkart. "As schools prepare to reopen in May, we have observed strong growth in student-related e-commerce purchases. Categories like school bags, books, stationery, pens, pencils, and school supplies compared to last year have witnessed over 2x growth."

" The convenience and wide selection offered by e-commerce is resonating strongly, with parents and students preparing for the new academic year. We expect this momentum to continue in the coming months as schools reopen and consumers gear up for the new season'' he further added.



(With TOI inputs)