Back to School 2025: A season of reset, routine, and relevance for brands
As summer winds down, families across Canada shift into planning mode. From school supplies and tech to fashion, food, and financial services, back-to-school is more than season, it’s a prime marketing opportunity.
Nearly nine-in-ten Canadian parents shopping for back to school supplies expect to spend the same or more than last year, but these shoppers are becoming more intentional with their shopping strategies. Brands that get the timing, message, and channel mix right will win the attention and trust of Canadian households.
One season, three audience mindsets
The back-to-school season engages a wide audience, but shoppers behave very differently depending on timing.
The Early Organizer (66%)
Two-thirds of back-to-school shopping is wrapped up before August, heavily influenced by early summer promotions. These households prioritize deals, essentials, and time-saving, and tend to plan well in advance.
The Prime-Time Shopper (21%)
Roughly one-fifth of families complete their shopping in early August, building full baskets both online and in-store. While smaller in share, this window is highly active, driven by mobile and social influence.
The Last-Minute Spender (12%)
Around one in ten households push their shopping into late August and early September, motivated by urgency, convenience, and peer influence. These shoppers show higher impulse behaviours, capturing a meaningful late-season opportunity.
If a strategy only speaks to one or two of these mindsets, it misses key revenue windows. The strongest brands will phase their campaigns to adapt across the season.
Tactics that deliver smarter seasonal impact
Winning in back-to-school means blending timing, targeting, and agility:
- Omnichannel presence – 61% of Canadian shoppers research products before buying.
- Localized messaging – Provincial return-to-school dates vary; timing creative accordingly is crucial
- Tiered incentives – Early-bird discounts → mid-season bundles → last-minute urgency
- Measurement beyond clicks – Track lift, ROAS, and in-store influence
Agility that reflects real-time shopping habits
Canadian parents are adjusting in real time, based on sales, supply chains, and even weather. Over four-in-five Canadians rank price as the top factor influencing their purchasing decisions, as economic pressures continue to shape school shopping habits.
Marketers must be ready to pivot weekly, updating creatives, reallocating budget by channel, and personalizing based on customer signals. Bell Media makes this easier with flexible terms across platforms, including just 14 days’ notice on linear TV, the same as digital. It’s all part of helping brands move fast without being locked into long-term commitments.
Why Bell Media is your one- stop shop for back-to-school season
Back-to-school is a reset moment for families and a critical brand moment across industries. Bell Media’s unmatched cross-platform ecosystem makes it easy to ensure your message connects with Canadian shoppers everywhere they are.
Bell Media can reach your customers everywhere:
- Video – From Entertainment, news and sports with CTV, Noovo, TSN and RDS on linear TV and Connected TV live, to premium streaming on Crave, FAST channels and Bell Media YouTube channels, Bell Media can put your brand on every screen with a total video strategy.
- Audio – Capture audiences on the go by combining radio and digital audio for maximum impact and reach across live local stations and iHeartRadio’s premium streaming, podcasts, and addressable audio capabilities, engaging audiences wherever they’re listening.
- OOH & Digital OOH – Reinforce your brand messaging in with high impact placements in busy retail areas, transit hubs, and other high-traffic corridors.
- Digital – Connect with shoppers online through display, pre-roll video, and native formats across Bell Media’s premium web properties.
And, Bell Media makes it easy to reach them:
- Bell Ads for Business – For local advertisers, this self-serve platform makes it easy to reach shoppers via Connected TV, display and video. Powered by Bell’s First Party Data and audience targeting it lets you create local campaigns in five simple steps and measure results in real time.
- Bell Marketing Platform – For enterprise clients, this easy-to-use platform brings everything together to help you move smarter, faster, and with confidence.
- Plan – Use Bell Audience Manager to build and segment scalable, high-value audiences using real-time insights from over 22 million connections across 8 million Canadian households.
- Activate – Reach your audience on linear TV with SAM, or programmatically through our partnership with The Trade Desk.
- Measure – Prove ROI and optimize strategy with Bell Attribution Insights, connecting media exposure to real business outcomes like web visits, sales, and brand lift.
Bottom line: One season, every shopper
Back-to-school is one of Canada’s most influential shopping moments, spanning multiple audiences, purchase cycles, and platforms. With an unmatched ecosystem that reaches 98% of Canadians every month across all our brands, platforms, and assets, Bell Media helps brands can connect with parents, students, and households at every stage of the season, from early planning to last-minute purchases.
Back-to-school only comes once a year. Let Bell Media help you make every moment count.
Sources:
1- Caddle & Retail Council of Canada Back-to-School 2024 Shopping in Canada Survey
2- MiQ, 2025 Canada Insight Back-to-school
3- Sources: KPMG 2025: In-store shopping still reigns supreme for Canadians
