The back to school shopping season represents a tremendous opportunity for brands to tap into already-existing consumer behaviors, especially for CPG, Retail, and Apparel companies.
Our multi-method research looked at the back to school shopping journey, then applied behavioral science, or the study of human behavior, which largely focuses on cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are shortcuts that help us navigate the 70,000+ decisions that we make each day.
Understanding target consumer cognitive biases that are driving what can seem like irrational consumer behavior, then activating these biases to influence behavior in a responsible way can be game-changing for commercial innovation initiatives. Different from a traditional consumer insight, cognitive biases hone in on behavioral patterns the consumer is already doing, allowing brands to integrate into natural consumer behavior. Drop us a line if you’d like help activating some of the Back to School cognitive biases or insights outlined in the report!
What’s inside the report?
- Top back to school insights and motivations: Things such as evoking emotion, being a holiday in itself, and convenience arose as just some of the top insights dug up through our research.
- Why behavioral science matters for back to school: Parents shopping for school feel tension between the number of available products, influence from their children, and influence from teachers. Brain shortcuts alleviate this tension, and ultimately help shoppers make decisions.
- Cognitive biases: Our research identified 4 cognitive biases and emotional shortcuts that consumers are taking to make their back to school shopping decisions just a little bit easier — Ambiguity Effect, Anchoring Bias, Bandwagon Effect, and Habit Bias.
