Study: Back-to-school shoppers do online homework

San Jose, Calif. – Back-to-school shoppers are doing their homework online before making purchases. According to research from store analytics provider RetailNext, 73% of consumers research online and then buy back-to-school items in the store.



In addition, 32% of college shoppers plan to comparison shop online to make sure they get the best pricing, up from 28% in 2014. More than 31% of K-12 school shoppers will compare prices online, compared with 30% last year.



Other notable findings include:



• The majority (66%) of back-to-school shopping in 2014 took place in August.



• Nearly half (48%) of back-to-school online shopping occurs three to four weeks prior to the first day of school.



• 15% of shoppers said all of their purchases were influenced by coupons, sales and promotions.



• Three of every five dollars spent back-to-school shopping was for college-bound students.