Target kicking off back-to-school deals in July — with new offer for teachers
Target Corp. isn’t wasting any time in launching its back-to-school campaign.
The discounter will officially kick off the season on July 9 (two days before Amazon’s Prime Day) during the week of sales for members of its Circle loyalty program (membership is free). Described as the biggest sale of the season, Target Circle Week will offer significant savings on food and beverage, beauty, everyday essentials, electronics and more, according to the retailer.
New this year, Target is expanding its Circle teacher appreciation event beyond school supplies to give teachers a one-time 20% discount on an entire shopping trip, either in-store or online, from July 16 through Aug. 26. All K-12 teachers, homeschool teachers, teachers working at daycare centers and early childhood learning centers, university or college professors and vocational/trade/technical school teachers with valid identification are eligible.
The retailer also is bringing back a one-time 20% discount on an entire shopping trip, in-store or online, for verified college students who are members of the loyalty program. The event runs July 16 through Aug. 26.
The retailer will also offer tax-free weekends: All Target stores in states with sales tax holiday events will not charge sales tax during specific weekends (2023 State Sales Tax Holidays site).
Target said that its back-to-school deals start at under $1, with most under $15.
“Our back-to-school and back-to-college assortment features a broad range of essentials that are priced right for all families,” said Jill Sando, chief merchandising office, Target. “We're also pleased to expand our 20% teacher discount across the entire store and on Target.com, to provide teachers with even greater value on the items they need for their classrooms.”
Back-to-School Forecasts
Target is looking to catch back-to-school shoppers as early forecasts predict a healthy, discount-driven and early back-to-school sales season, with growth aided by inflation.
KPMG’s “2023 Consumer Pulse Back to School Survey” found that 62% of consumers this year have started or plan to start back-to-school before August 1, compared to 53% a year ago. More than 60% of back-to-school shoppers are concerned with inflation and 70% of them will be looking for early discounts to counter higher prices on back to school items. Shoppers expect to spend, on average, $377 per child, 21%more than a year ago.
Parents plan to spend 15.7% more on back-to-school this year compared to the previous year, considerably more than the year-over-year inflation rate of 4.9%, according to JLL’s “Back-to-School Survey.”