We are almost fatigued with the news bulletins. They are filled with death numbers, post covid complications, families with lost incomes, and the list goes on. This has brought us to believe that this pandemic isn’t short-lived, and we have to live with it.

Perhaps the worst-hit segment of this entire planet (of course apart from the ones who have been laid off from their jobs or lost their near ones) are the school kids! Schools have been trying heart and soul to deliver every aspect of schooling via technology. Has that been fruitful enough for the past two years (almost)?

Have the headphones, the laptop screens, the mini speakers and the webcams been able to fill the void? The void created by – lack of playfields, lunch breaks, outdoor games, and most of all their friends in person?

The digital transformations of this-generation kids

The long-drawn stay of coronavirus has compelled countries to “re-imagine” school. Whether the technologies and technical platforms (that we have kind of acclimatized to) will stay for long or die down along with the virus is uncertain! Under the present scenario, whilst talking about school kids, we must necessarily talk about the digital transformation of kids of this age!

Children are not born with technology-handling skills. But when they are exposed to it from a very early age, they become somewhat tech-savvy. And you certainly don’t oppose the idea of your kids adapting to technology fast, do you?

This, however, does not necessarily mean that the children will be spending excessive screen time! It all depends on us – their elders and most crucially, the education policymakers who are to dexterously design a blended approach for their welfare in totality including their emotional and psychological needs.

Changes in the back-to-school shopping this year

The best way to go (for the schooling thing) is blending the back-to-classroom transition with digital and instructional support! Hence, the back-to-school shopping would bear some technological additions this year. The sales of traditional school supplies such as paper products, pens, pencils, and other dated goods might, unfortunately, receive a setback.

The various sales survey forecasts across the US highlights the following:

• More than 50% of shoppers choose to go for a before-time shopping as they fear stocks of tech goods especially, to run out by the end of August!
• The sales of traditional back-to-school supplies such as stationery items have fallen by almost 40%!
• For tech-purchases mostly, people preferred the online-only model of shopping – the shoppers' figure is somewhere close to 80%!

Did you know that there still remains a considerable section of back-to-school shoppers (about 10%) who are undecided on what to shop, where to shop from, and whether to shop at all!

Social media has been playing an important role in marketing, influencing buyer's decisions, and understanding the market trends this year. More than 40% of the consumers are visiting the social media pages of retailers only to assess the buying trend as well as the quality and purpose of tech-buying.

Let’s focus on the buying trends this year

Carrying the most fashionable tech goods and gadgets has taken over fashion clothing in schools and colleges this year. So, if we are to concentrate on some of the changing consumer behavior facts, here are a few points we need to pay heed on:

• The year 2020 had observed about a 28% increase in the sales of computers and electronic gadgets. This year, there's been a 37% year-over-year increase in sales of the same.
• The type of goods that have witnessed the maximum sales are – gadgets such as tablets, e-readers, and cell phones.

The change in demand patterns for consumer electronics and other tech goodies is still to satiate the in-home schooling needs. We are still keeping our fingers crossed for our kids to get back to their classrooms soon!