Back to School 2025: The Real Q1 for Retail Brands

Think of it as retail’s reset button. New routines. New devices. New lists.

For families, this season is a rare window when planning takes precedence over passive scrolling, and brands have a shot at real, measurable intent. This is exactly why having a strong Back to School 2025 retail strategy is essential for brands looking to gain early advantage.

Back to School Shopping Trends 2025: Spending Signals Intent

In the US, average spending is projected to reach $586 per child^[1], or about $875 per household. For the UK, this figure stands at around £452 per child^[2]. And nearly three out of four shoppers say they’ll spend the same or more than last year^[3].

That’s a wave of purchase intent just waiting to be channeled. Brands that show up early in the user journey have the advantage.

What’s Changing in Parent Shopping Behavior?

Planning starts earlier.
Parents are planning weeks ahead, prioritizing essentials over extras. Waiting for the peak could mean you’re already behind.
Value and durability rule.
Big-ticket items like laptops and tablets are now long-term investments, not impulse buys. 69%^[1] of back-to-school shoppers plan to purchase devices meant to last beyond a single school year.
Intent lives in functional digital spaces.
Shoppers research in browsers, search engines and school portals. These platforms are designed for action, not distraction.

Why Retail Brands Need to Act Now

📍 Early impressions become defaults.
When the research list turns into a cart, users tend to choose brands that were familiar and consistently visible throughout their purchase journey.

📍 Win the List, Win the Cart
The brands that show up while users are shortlisting products are the ones that stick at checkout.

📍 Visibility builds memory.
Being present early in the season drives more clicks and helps build stronger brand recall over time.

Back to School Spending Data 2025

Here’s where families are putting their dollars, and where brands should follow:

(Source: NRF)

What This Means for Brand and Performance Marketers

Parents are not cutting back on spending; they are making more intentional choices. That means intent is still strong, but it’s more considered. For performance marketers, the takeaway is clear: Early activation matters. Placement matters more.

Context-rich environments, such as browser start pages, outperform passive, high-reach channels in driving real decisions. Brands that build their Back to School 2025 retail strategy around high-intent moments and smart placements will be best positioned to convert planning into purchase.

Turn Browsing Into Brand Action

The earliest stages of the buying journey are when shoppers are most open. They’re comparing options, researching features, and weighing price against value. This is a small window, but a crucial one. Brands that that appear early in this phase, especially in high-intent environments like browsers, often stay top-of-mind all the way through to checkout. Browsers give brands an opportunity to do just that.

At VEVE, we work with major internet browsers like Microsoft Edge, Opera, Firefox, Brave, Samsung Internet Browser, Avast Secure Browser and many more. These browsers are where people start their day online – checking the news, searching for deals, or opening tabs for things they need.

How Top Retail Brands Are Leveraging VEVE

Retail giants across the world like Amazon, Walmart, Tesco, Morrisons, and Macy’s are using VEVE’s ad formats to drive measurable performance. With Tiles (quick-access icons), brands secure a constant presence on the browser start page. These placements keep brands just one click away as shoppers plan, browse, and compare. In fact, VEVE is the sole touchpoint in the path-to-purchase in 75% of retail user journeys, offering a frictionless path to the brand’s site and nudging shoppers from interest to action.

When paired with Impact (featuring high-impact banners and engaging doodle creatives), these placements do more than build awareness. They drive results. Brands have seen around 30% higher average order value and a 40-60% drop in customer acquisition costs by showing up early and consistently in the browsing journey.

Built for Incremental Reach

Browser placements are proving to be a useful addition to the media mix. In 9 out of 10 customer journeys we support, the browser ad is the sole touchpoint from discovery to decision, reaching users that brands might miss through search and social alone. Browser placements don’t compete with existing paid media efforts; they complement them by unlocking new audiences and driving additional reach in high-intent environments where shoppers are actively making choices.

Intent isn’t waiting and neither should your brand. Discover how VEVE can boost performance this Back-to-School season and beyond.