New report from Cardlytics reveals three major trends shaping the Back to School season

ATLANTA, August 6, 2015 – Cardlytics, the company that pioneered the global Card-Linked Marketing industry, has just released a new report highlighting three emerging trends that will significantly impact retailers in the current Back to School (B2S) shopping season. 

Good news for businesses, the report found that the second largest shopping season of the year is growing in popularity with consumers. Consumer spend data from 125 major retailers shows that in 2014, Back to School spending during the six weeks from mid-July to late August increased 3.04% year over year. Though there is more opportunity than ever before, retailers should take special note of some key trends in Back to School consumer spending:

• More frequent shopping trips, not transaction sizes, drive growth for Back to School retail sales
• Specialty retailers see the biggest share gains during this period–one category saw over a 600% increase in spend
• Consumers make Back to School purchases for a longer period of time online versus brick-and-mortar stores, even after school officially starts

“What we’ve found is that Back to School drives more spend and more trips to more stores across several categories,” said Dani Cushion, CMO of Cardlytics. “As a result, we recommend that retailers across the board prepare for Back to School as a distinct shopping event in both their media and in-store efforts.”About CardlyticsCardlytics® is a data analytics and digital advertising company that makes all advertising better. Our patented technology measures and connects trillions in retail purchases to millions of individual consumers, served via our unique ad platform. We partner with major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Lloyds Banking Group and FIS, allowing insight into consumer purchases across all categories and geographies, securely and without any personally identifiable information ever leaving the bank. This whole-wallet perspective on consumer spending helps advertisers reach millions of customers with highly relevant campaigns across all digital media –display, mobile, video, social and email – and precisely measure results. Thousands of brands, retailers and restaurants in the US and the UK are using the Cardlytics product suite to drive billions of impressions and connect online advertising directly to in-store sales lift. Cardlytics is a private company that has raised nearly $170 million from leading hedge and venture funds, private investors, and from the world’s leading loyalty company, Aimia. Headquartered in Atlanta, Cardlytics has offices in London, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.