Walmart, Target to see bulk of BTS shoppers

Walmart and Target should see an influx of parents in the coming months, as both retailers topped the list of where consumers plan to do most of their back-to-school shopping this year, according to The NPD Group.



NPDasked the the open-end question: “Where do you plan to do most of the back to school shopping for your child(ren)?" Out of 1,760 mentions of retailers where parents plan to do back to school shopping on behalf of their kids, Walmart secured 36% of them, followed by Target at 20%.



After Target, there was a significant drop-off, with Kohl's and JCPenney each garnering 4% of mentions, followed by Staples at 3%, Dollar Stores (consisting of Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Dollar Stores and Family Dollar) at 3% and Kmart, Old Navy, "The Mall" and wherever there is a sale at 2%.



According toNPD, it is interesting to note that 2% of respondents mentioned that they were planning on shopping “Wherever there is a sale,” which indicates a willingness on the part of shoppers to wait and hunt for promotions on school supplies. This is a response that has not shown up in previous iterations of this survey question.