Licensed Products Drive Back To School Market

Slip a Disney Princess lunchbox into the Spider-Man 2 backpack, throw in some Care Bears stationary and zip it up--the kids are ready for back-to-school. Licensed products are the hottest items on the market, and sporting the latest characters is a fashion must for mini trendsetters. Today the 3-5 year old pre-school crowd is just as label-sensitive as their older siblings and they have become extremely influential in the back-to-school market.

Back-to-school remains the second most significant sales period for retailers. It typically lasts from mid-July through mid-September and consumers are expected to spend $14.8 billion on children´s merchandise this year. Basic items such as school supplies, apparel, footwear, and school bags (or backpacks) occupy the top spending categories according to an August 12th NPD group report.

Eating a square meal doesn’t mean kids have to carry their lunch in a box anymore. The newest thing in lunchbox designs are different shapes such as circular, hearts or even cars, observes Mike Dobbs from lunchboxes.com. The soft insulated version also prevails over hard boxes. “Parents like it because it keeps food hotter or colder, the latch does not break and its easier to store,” explains Dobbs.

Manufacturers are also adding extra accessories to school supplies. Thermos is leading the pack by incorporating interchangeable fashions, mirrors and removable covers into their packs. The pull-along style travel bags are on hold right now, but they will rise again during the holiday season. Regular, over- the-shoulder backpacks are hot for September with more care being taken with the comfort, ergonomics and size. Regardless, profitable themed licenses are the key to success in this market. Stacy Hall of Flying Colors notes that these trademark-bearing products are riding a wave of pupularity and have a widespread appeal to girls and boys of varied age ranges.

TDmonthly´s Exclusive Coverage of the Back-to-School Buying Season continues at the links below:

TDmonthly´s_Top_10_Most_Wanted_Boys´_Back_to_School_Accessories
TDmonthly´s_Top_10_Most_Wanted_Girls´_Back_to_School_Accessories