Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Autumn events grow in size
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- Figure 1: Estimated autumn/winter seasonal events market size (Including VAT), 2015 and 2016
- Strong sales growth in the latter end of 2016
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- Figure 2: Annual percentage change in all retail sales (excluding fuel) at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, 2016
- Black Friday grows in size
- Companies brands and innovation
- Asda spends the most advertising on back-to-school
- Discounters prioritise low-price uniform
- Beauty retailers tap into Halloween make-up trend
- The consumer
- Parents and Millennials are the biggest buying groups
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- Figure 3: Spending on Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- Dads outspend mums on seasonal events
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- Figure 4: Amount spent on products purchased for Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- Sainsbury’s attracts new seasonal shoppers
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- Figure 5: Retailers purchased from for Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- Store displays and experiences integral to drive purchases
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- Figure 6: Shopping behaviours when purchasing for Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- Eight in 10 parents purchase for back-to-school
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- Figure 7: Products purchased for the start of the school term in autumn 2016, January 2017
- George at Asda is popular for school uniform
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- Figure 8: Retailers used for purchasing school uniform and shoes for the start of the autumn 2016 school term, January 2017
- Promotional offers drive mums to spend
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- Figure 9: Factors to encourage purchasing back-to-school items from one retailer over another, January 2017
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Marketing to dads
- The facts
- The implications
- Opportunities for value growth in back-to-school
- The facts
- The implications
- Halloween beauty retail boost
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Autumn events grow in size
- Autumn takes the greatest share of retail sales
- Online penetration peaks in November
- Advertising spend data reflects retail sales
- Remarkably strong Christmas 2016
Market Size
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- Economic uncertainties are yet to impact consumers’ own finances
- Growth in back-to-school market
- Halloween boosts October retail sales
- Consumers up their spending on Bonfire Night
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- Figure 10: Estimated autumn/winter seasonal events market size (Including VAT), 2015 and 2016
Retail Sales across the Year
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- Autumn takes the greatest share of retail sales
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- Figure 11: Value of all retail sales (excluding fuel) at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, by season, 2016
- Consumers spent out generously on Christmas
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- Figure 12: Value of all retail sales (excluding fuel) at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, 2015 and 2016
- Figure 13: Value of leading category retail sales at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, 2015 and 2016
- Growth in retail sales by month
- Weak August and September
- October boosted by Halloween
- November
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- Figure 14: Annual percentage change in all retail sales (excluding fuel) at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, 2016
- Figure 15: Annual percentage change in leading category retail sales at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, 2016
Online Retail Sales across the Year
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- Online penetration peaks in November
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- Figure 16: Online retail sales as a percentage of all retail sales, monthly, 2015 and 2016
- Black Friday pulls online sales forward
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- Figure 17: Value of all online retail sales at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, 2015 and 2016
- Online sales strengthen in second half
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- Figure 18: Annual percentage change in all online retail sales at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, 2016
- Clothing lends well to online purchasing
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- Figure 19: Online retail sales as a percentage of all retail sales, by category, monthly, 2015 and 2016
Advertising Spend across the Year
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- Boost in advertising spend during December
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- Figure 20: Recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure by all retailers, by month, 2015 and 2016
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- Figure 21: Recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure by all retailers, monthly as a % of total spending, 2016
- Television advertising dominates spend
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- Figure 22: Recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure by all retailers, by media type, 2016
- Retailers decrease reliance on press and direct mail
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- Figure 23: Recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure by all retailers, by media type, 2014-16
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
Black Friday and Christmas
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- Black Friday grows in size
- Christmas beats expectations
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Marks & Spencer boasts the Art of School Uniform
- Discounters prioritise low-price uniform
- Beauty retailers tap into make-up tutorial phenomenon
- Superdrug launches its own Snapchat filter
- Asda spends the most advertising back-to-school
- Morrisons invests in Bonfire Night
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Back-to-school
- Marks & Spencer boasts the ‘Art of School Uniform’
- Discounters prioritise lowest prices
- Halloween
- Lidl launches biggest ever Halloween range
- Beauty retailers tap into make-up tutorial phenomenon
- Superdrug launches its own Snapchat filter
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- Figure 24: Screenshot of Superdrug’s twitter page, showing the Snapchat Black Swan filter, 2016
- Premium beauty retailers offer Halloween makeovers
- Morrisons hosts pumpkin carving classes in-store
- Pet products on trend for 2016
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- Figure 25: Pet accessories from Accessorize, October 2016
- Figure 26: Pet costumes from Pets at Home, October 2016
- Tesco saves food waste with pumpkin rescue stations
- Other events
- Tesco takes part in Diwali
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Back-to-school: Sainsbury’s boosts spending
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- Figure 27: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on back-to-school products by leading retailers between June and September, 2014-16
- Figure 28: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on back-to-school products by leading retailers between June and September, by month, 2014-16
- Halloween: Lidl ups expenditure on biggest ever range
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- Figure 29: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on Halloween products by leading retailers, 2014-16
- Bonfire Night: overshadowed by Christmas campaigns
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- Figure 30: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on Bonfire Night products by leading retailers, 2014-16
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Parents of 6-12s lead Halloween and Bonfire Night purchasing
- Young people as likely to buy cosmetics as fancy dress
- Dads outspend mums on seasonal events
- Sainsbury’s attracts new seasonal shoppers
- Weekend events drive an increase in spend
- Eight in 10 parents purchase for back-to-school
- Increase in spend driven by brand-savvy kids
- George at Asda the market leader for school uniform
- Promotional offers drive mums to spend
Purchasing for Halloween and Bonfire Night
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- Halloween takes greater share of purchasing
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- Figure 31: Spending on Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- Halloween make-up trend drives cosmetics purchases
- Parents of 6-12s are the biggest buying group
- Six in 10 Millennials purchase for the nostalgic event
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- Figure 32: Proportion of consumers purchasing products for Halloween and Bonfire Night in 2015 and 2016, December 2015 and January 2017
- Dads outspend mums on seasonal events
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- Figure 33: Amount spent on Halloween products, mothers vs fathers, January 2017
- Spending highest in London
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- Figure 34: Amount spent on products purchased for Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- Opportunity for multiple purchase deals
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- Figure 35: Repertoire of products purchased for Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
Retailers Purchased From – Halloween and Bonfire Night
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- Supermarkets attract the majority of spend
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- Figure 36: Retailers purchased from for Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- The ‘Big Four’ – Sainsbury’s wins shoppers
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- Figure 37: Halloween and Bonfire Night shoppers at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda, 2015 and 2016, December 2015 and January 2017
- Grocers face little competition from the non-food sector
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- Figure 38: Retailers purchased from for Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- Online-only retailers limited by lack of ‘passing trade’
Shopping Behaviours – Halloween and Bonfire Night
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- Weekend events drive an increase in spend
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- Figure 39: Shopping behaviours when purchasing for Halloween and Bonfire Night, January 2017
- Dads up their spending
- Affluent older Millennials the least cautious in their spending
- Store displays and experiences to drive impulse purchases
Purchasing for Back-to-School
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- Eight in 10 parents make a purchase
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- Figure 40: Products purchased for the start of the school term in autumn 2016, January 2017
- School uniform purchases driven by price
- Higher school leaving age boosts stationery sales
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- Figure 41: Products purchased for the start of the school term in autumn 2016, by age of children, January 2017
- Rising spend on sportswear, bags and stationery
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- Figure 42: Amount spent on products purchased for the start of the school term, December 2016 and January 2017
Where School Uniform is Purchased
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- George at Asda the market leader
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- Figure 43: Retailers used for purchasing school uniform and shoes for the start of the autumn 2016 school term, January 2017
- Specialist shops number one among affluent parents
- Challenging market for clothing and footwear specialists
Purchase Drivers for Back-to-School
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- Promotional offers the biggest attraction
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- Figure 44: Factors to encourage purchasing back-to-school items from one retailer over another, mothers vs fathers, January 2017
- Dads seek external recommendations
- TV adverts more effective than social media and print
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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