Back to school shopping is here—and kids are the ones influencing Millennial parents’ purchasing decisions.

Back to school shopping is here—and kids are the ones influencing Millennial parents’ purchasing decisions. YPulse data shows that Gen Alpha is already influencing their Millennial parents’ purchases, and Mintel reports that 57% of parents say that “they look to their kids for what to buy when back to school shopping.” They’re the top influence for both moms and dads, and after that “moms prioritize school recommendations (41%) and promotions/coupons (40%), [for dads,] brand familiarity (32%) and social media (33%)” are the main areas they look to. Recommendations from retailers and other parents have the least impact. Their data also shows that “71% of parents say convenience is more important than price when back-to-school shopping” and half of parents are BTS shopping from their mobile devices. For brands, social commerce and working with influencers is how they’ll reach both Gen Z and young parents’ BTS shopping. American Eagle is connecting with these shoppers on TikTok, including “a weekly live shopping show on the platform that highlights influencers and store associates across the US to get consumers excited to shop for the new school year.” YPulse’s Back to School Shopping report data shows 35% of parents do their BTS both online and in stores. (PR Newswire)