Consumer habits are changing on a yearly basis but the reasons for shopping stay the same.

Formerly in August but currently beginning as soon as late June, the back-to-school shopping season is a period of increased e-commerce spending. Despite the global inflation and post-covid financial uncertainty, consumers are yet again planning to spend more than the previous year.  

As a performance marketer, you can take advantage of the increased demand and put your advertising out there at the time of need.

Take a look below for tips on how to capitalize on the back-to-school shopping season.

Why should you advertise during the back-to-school season? [Facts & Stats]

• Predictably, more than half of North American back-to-school shoppers intend to buy school supplies like pens, pencils, and stationery, while 44% plan to purchase clothing, apparel, and footwear. (source: Google)
• Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend $864, $15 more than last year, on average on back-to-school items. (source: NRF)
• Although total back-to-school spending is expected to fall to $36.9B down from $37.1B last year and an all-time high in the survey’s history, the total spending on back-to-college is expected to reach $73.9B up from $71B in 2021. (source: NRF)
• How much are consumers planning to spend on back-to-school shopping in each of the following areas? (source: Statista)

Back-to-school advertising options

Depending on your experience and budget, you can advertise back-to-school products in a variety of ad formats. Zeropark offers Incremental Search Ads for brand offers and Pop, Push, or Domain redirects for other offers. 

Incremental Search Solutions

Incremental Search Solutions in Zeropark provide a brand-safe, instant way of matching brands with customers. This is a non-intrusive, contextual method of advertising, with no cookies involved. 

In Zeropark, Incremental Search Opportunities come in two forms: Search Autocomplete and Suggestion Tiles. They come from Zeropark’s direct relationships with publishers such as browsers, search engines, mobile apps, and BNPL platforms.

Incremental Search Solutions seem to be perfectly tailored to the needs of e-commerce advertising. They capitalize on the customer search intent and provide the shortest path from the search bar right to the store. 

Due to the seamless integration with renowned publishers, Search Opportunities look native to where they appear, thus giving the impression of an honest suggestion rather than a profit-driven advertising strategy. 

Incremental Search Solutions are perfect for e-commerce.

They’re instant – no waiting for the ad, no second-page placement, no interruptive pop-ups.

They’re direct – landing pages other than the brand website are not allowed so the ad leads straight to the shop.

They’re brand-safe – the highest standard of user experience (trusted by brands such as Macy’s Nike, Canon, or Samsung).

They’re effective – Incremental Search Opportunities are designed to capture customers’ intent, so their conversion rates stand out compared to other ad formats.

They’re contextually relevant – meeting customer intent at the optimal place and time.

Pop, Push, Domain Redirect

Pop, push and domain redirects are a universal trio for affiliate marketing. Mastering any of these ad formats can take a bit of research, data gathering, and testing.  

POP ADS

Pop ads are new browser windows or tabs appearing over the currently browsed website. They’re low on costs and effort and perfect for testing all kinds of offers. If you’re a beginner, or if you’re trying to split test variables on budget, pop ads are a perfect choice. Injection traffic is something you should take into account as well. It’s a form of pop traffic geared towards e-commerce offers.

Learn more about the advantages of pop traffic.

PUSH ADS

Push ads take the form of notifications that appear on both desktop and mobile devices. Their native appearance and direct-to-consumer usage make them a perfect ad format for the back-to-school season. They are pricier than pop ads but the audience consists of users who actively opted-in to receive such notifications, hence, generating higher engagement. 

A variant of push ads is in-page push ads which take the form of banner ads in the notification form. They are not based on subscriptions which give them a wider reach. 

You can learn more about push traffic by reading Zeropark’s ultimate guide to push traffic.

DOMAIN REDIRECT ADS

Domain redirect ads, also known as zero-click traffic, are parked domains that take visitors to advertised landing pages through redirects. By accidentally typing in misspelled domains, users are redirected to relevant pages which makes this ad format one of the most used for e-commerce advertising.

If you’d like to get to know zero click traffic a bit better, head over to Zeropark’s ultimate guide to domain redirects.

Compliance rules

If you intend to advertise back-to-school products like supplies, clothes, and accessories then you most likely won’t break any compliance rules. However, if you choose to try Incremental Search opportunities, there are some brand-safety guidelines that need to be followed.

Incremental Search Ads are not pop, push, or domain redirects. This is a separate ad format that follows different, much stricter compliance rules. Some of the key points to remember are:

• Users engaging with Incremental Search Ads MUST end up on the website of an advertised brand.
• Using the image of celebrities, politicians, and public figures is forbidden without official permission.
• Only high-quality websites are allowed with no such content as adult, violence, gore, guns, radical political or religious views, nor any hateful or harmful content. 
• Any practices such as lack of domains, cloaking, back-button hijack, obstructed exit button, phishing, imitating popular sites, and copyright infringement are strictly prohibited.

How to run campaigns in Zeropark?

Launching a campaign in Zeropark is an easy and straightforward process. You just need to follow the steps:

1. Click on the New Campaign tab.
2. Pick the ad format. 
3. Fill in the campaign name and offer details.   
4. Choose targeting (make sure it aligns with the offer requirements).
5. Set timing, budgets, and bids. 
6. Copy the postback URL and paste it into your tracker. 
7. You’re ready to go!

For a step-by-step walkthrough, take a look at the instructions or watch the video below:

Best back-to-school offers and where to find them.

Back-to-school season is about to reach its peak. Here are the best offers to advertise with incremental search solutions during the back-to-school season:

1. Barnes & Noble [CJ affiliate]
   
2. Target [Target Partners]
3. Walmart [Walmart Affiliate Link]
4. Bed Bath & Beyond [FlexOffers], [Rakuten Advertising]
5. Amazon.com [Amazon Associates]
6. Old Navy [impact], [FlexOffers]
7. Kohl’s [impact], [Admitad], [FlexOffers]
8. Ikea [Admitad], [Awin]
9. Best Buy [impact]
10. LensCrafters [FlexOffers], [CJ affiliate]
11. Staples [FlexOffers], [CJ affiliate]
12. Family Dollar Stores [ShareASale]
13. Macy’s [FlexOffers], [Rakuten Advertising]
14. Sam’s Club [FlexOffers], [Rakuten Advertising]
15. Big Lots [FlexOffers]
16. Office Depot & OfficeMax [CJ affiliate], [FlexOffers]
17. Aéropostale [FlexOffers], [pepperjam]
18. Urban Outfitters [FlexOffers], [Rakuten Advertising]

Join Zeropark Now

Magdalena Bober