As summer in North America draws near, advertisers are already planning for the upcoming school year — and for good reason. Consumer spending reached an all-time high in 2023, with $41 billion for back-to-school and $94 billion for back-to-college, according to the National Retail Federation.1
This year, savvy marketers are set to capitalize on the back-to-school opportunity with more robust retail media solutions. As the No. 1 U.S. retailer, Walmart has many insights to help you get ready for the school shopping season. In 2023, it was customers’ favorite retailer compared to major competitors, seeing a 20% and 3% jump in online and in-store shopping, respectively.2
Thanks to Walmart’s partnership with The Trade Desk, you can reach Walmart customers at every stage of their shopping journey and connect those touchpoints back to your online and in-store sales.
A survey of Walmart customers revealed actionable insights you can use to optimize your back-to-school campaigns. Here are some trends, tips, and success stories to help you get an A+ in brand growth.
Your Back-to-School Cheat-Sheet
Learn how to activate your campaign using Walmart DSP powered by The Trade Desk
1. Start by reaching the right audience at every stage of the shopping journey across digital media channels, using Walmart Connect audiences for precise targeting.
2. Deliver the right message at the right time using retargeting and dynamic creative optimization solutions. These can help you retarget customers who have interacted with your products on Walmart’s site and app with more relevant messaging. A major toy brand recently implemented this retargeting solution to win market share and saw 90% of purchases come from new-to-brand buyers.4
3. Walmart’s closed-loop measurement can help you see your campaign impact across the website, app, and in-store sales. New-buyer analysis and sales-lift reporting can help you understand how your media investment is driving incremental growth.
A back-to-school campaign in action
Learn how Fruit of the Loom successfully achieved strong results by adding Walmart DSP to their back-to-school campaign.
Want to start your back-to-school campaign?
Reach out to your account manager at The Trade Desk or Walmart Connect today!
About Walmart Connect
With 150 million weekly omnichannel customers,5 Walmart is deeply integrated into the lives of its customers and understands how they engage with products and brands throughout their shopping journeys. Walmart Connect helps brands connect with Walmart customers more often and more meaningfully than ever before to help accelerate their shared growth. As the retail media business of America's largest retailer, Walmart Connect offers unparalleled opportunities for brands to reach their desired customers, no matter where, how, or when they shop.
For additional information, visit Walmart Connect’s website and LinkedIn page.
Sources:
1 NRF, “Back-to-Class Shopping Expected to Reach Record Levels,” Jul 2023.
2-4 Walmart Back to School Survey, First Party Data, Walmart Spark Community, provided by Walmart Luminate 2023.
5 Walmart Data 2024