Back-to-school emails are landing. Here's what brands are...
Back-to-school is is an easy season to ignore if you don't sell school supplies.
And this morning we're covering why that would be a mistake.
We pulled apart four campaigns and found a few themes every retention marketer should have on their radar before August kicks into high gear.
→ Your customers canceled their summer trips (but they didn't cancel spending)
→ The biggest mistake in retention marketing happens after the first sale.
→ You're averaging your best email down to everyone else👀
→ Reformation just filed for an IPO targeting a $1 billion valuation
Your customers canceled their summer trips (but they didn't cancel spending)
New Omnisend research across the US, UK, and Canada found about half of shoppers are downgrading or scrapping summer travel because it's gotten too expensive.
But they're not closing their wallets... Nearly 6 in 10 of the people staying home are still treating themselves to the small stuff: clothing, food delivery, a nice meal, a local experience.
So this summer belongs to the brand that shows up as the affordable, guilt-free treat, especially for the middle-income shoppers trading down from a vacation.
Omnisend broke down who's cutting back, where the money's going, and how to reach them.
*Sponsored
Knowledge drop:
The biggest mistake in retention marketing happens after the first sale. Jimmy explains why repeat purchases are fueled by loss avoidance and how to adjust your messaging accordingly.
Back-to-school emails are landing. Here's what brands are getting right.
Back-to-school season is officially making its way into the inbox. While the holiday season tends to steal the spotlight, this is one of the biggest shopping moments of the year and one that extends far beyond backpacks and notebooks.
Families are already shopping, and brands are finding creative ways to make their products part of the conversation. After reviewing some of the first back-to-school campaigns to hit our inboxes, a few clear themes are already emerging.
Here's what retention marketers can learn from them.
Back-to-school spending is still strong, but shoppers are becoming more selective
Back-to-school remains one of retail's biggest seasonal moments. The National Retail Federation expects shoppers to spend nearly $39 billion on K-12 purchases this year, while Deloitte estimates families will spend more than $550 per student. The opportunity is still there, but shoppers are becoming more intentional about where they spend.
Back-to-school by the numbers
~$39B expected in K-12 spending
$550+ average spend per student
Nearly 2 in 3 shoppers have already started buying
Electronics, apparel, shoes, and school supplies remain the biggest categories
The biggest shift isn't that people are spending less. They're asking tougher questions before they buy.
Instead of relying on bigger discounts, the strongest campaigns answer a different question: Why does this product matter right now?
That's exactly what these brands are doing.
1. Beekeeper's Naturals: Turn your product into a seasonal essential
Rather than promoting throat lozenges, Beekeeper's Naturals positions them as classroom essentials for teachers, parents, and students. The campaign immediately ties the product to a seasonal problem people can relate to, making it feel much more relevant than a generic promotion.
What we like
Frames the product around a seasonal need instead of a discount.
Expands the audience beyond students to include teachers and parents.
Uses a bundle to naturally increase average order value.
Gives shoppers multiple ways to purchase, including retail locations.
Steal this idea: Don't ask, "How can we make this a back-to-school sale?"
Ask, "How does our product become part of someone's routine once school starts?"
That shift in messaging is often all you need.
2. Pela: Sell the complete solution, not the hero product
Pela could have sent a campaign featuring phone cases and called it a day.
Instead, they introduce a Back-to-School Starter Pack, showcasing phone straps, wallets, totes, and accessories that work together. Rather than asking shoppers to buy one item, they make it easy to picture an entire setup.
What we like
"Starter Pack" instantly communicates value.
Cross-sells feel intentional rather than forced.
Lifestyle imagery helps customers imagine using the products.
Every section builds toward a larger purchase.
Steal this idea: Instead of highlighting your best-selling product, build a starter kit, daily essentials collection, or back-to-routine bundle around it. Remember, customers often buy the solution, not the individual SKU.
3. Hero Cosmetics: Build your campaign around the customer's routine
Hero isn't really selling acne patches.
They're selling confidence before the first day of class.
Every featured product is positioned around campus life, whether that's treating breakouts overnight, throwing products into a backpack, or keeping skin looking its best between classes. The seasonal messaging feels natural because it focuses on the customer's routine rather than forcing a school theme onto the product.
What we like
Every product has a clear seasonal use case.
"Campus essentials" feels more thoughtful than "Back-to-School Sale."
Gift with purchase increases perceived value without leading with a discount.
The creative reinforces the lifestyle the brand is selling.
Steal this idea: Think about where your customer uses your product during this season; not just what they're buying. That simple shift often leads to stronger campaign ideas.
4. Stance: Keep the concept simple
Stance proves you don't need an elaborate campaign to participate in the season.
The messaging revolves around fresh styles for a fresh semester, while the creative does most of the storytelling. It's clean, product-focused, and lets shoppers browse without overcomplicating the experience.
What we like
Strong creative immediately communicates the theme.
Product grid makes shopping frictionless.
Bundle messaging introduces an easy AOV opportunity.
Feels authentic to the Stance brand rather than overly seasonal.
Steal this idea: Not every seasonal campaign needs to reinvent your brand. Sometimes it's enough to give your existing products a seasonal context and let the merchandising do the rest.
What every ecommerce brand can borrow
None of these brands rely on classroom graphics or cheesy school references. Instead, they connect their products to the routines people are about to step back into. That's something almost every brand can do.
Coffee
Fuel early mornings.
Make the commute easier.
Create workday or study bundles.
Beauty
Five-minute morning routines.
Campus-ready skincare.
Gym bag essentials.
Supplements
Immune support for classroom season.
Focus and productivity.
Daily wellness habits.
Fitness
Back-to-routine challenges.
Healthy habits after summer.
Meal prep essentials.
Home
Dorm organization.
Home office refreshes.
Weeknight meal prep.
Pet brands
Back-to-routine treats.
Separation anxiety support.
Walking schedules after summer break.
The seasonal hook may change, but your product doesn't have to. The opportunity comes from reframing how your product fits into your customer's life during this time of year.
Don't market the season, market the routine.
One thing became clear after reviewing these early back-to-school campaigns: it’s all about helping customers understand why their products matter during this specific moment in the year, whether that's preparing for earlier mornings, building new routines, or feeling more confident heading into a new semester.
That's a strategy every brand can borrow, regardless of what it sells. Start by identifying the role your product plays in your customer's routine as summer comes to an end.
That shift in thinking is what turns a seasonal email into a campaign that customers actually connect with.
You're averaging your best email down to everyone else
It shows up as one flat number: revenue per email.
You polish the subject line, the design, the send time, but as long as fifty thousand people get the same identical send, your best result gets watered down by everyone it wasn't right for.
Paid media escaped this years ago. Meta optimizes per person, not per average, because every impression is its own creative matched to whoever's looking.
Allan brings that to email. Stock the shelf once with your headlines, images, offers, and copy, and Allan builds the highest-converting version for each subscriber, so the winners stop getting dragged down by the misses.
Give every subscriber their best email, and the average takes care of itself.
*Sponsored
DTC wins: Reformation just filed for an IPO targeting a $1 billion valuation
Reformation did $507 million in revenue last year and is going public at $15 to $17 a share. The interesting part is that 30% of their new DTC customers come through physical stores, not the website. They run 70 locations, 75% of which use a proprietary retail model they built in-house called Retail X. Reformation didn't back into brick-and-mortar. They turned it into their best acquisition channel.
