Why Back-to-School Season Is a Hidden Goldmine for Home Improvement Leads
Every July, retailers brace for the same predictable surge: parents pushing carts loaded with notebooks, backpacks, and new sneakers. Back-to-school season is usually treated as a category that only matters to apparel and electronics brands. The shoppers filling those carts are also homeowners, and most home improvement brands aren't reaching them there.
The Forecast Behind the Rush
Deloitte's newly released 2026 Back-to-School Survey shows K-12 back-to-school spending holding steady at a collective $30.4 billion this year, with parents planning to spend about $557 per student. The behavior behind that number matters more than the total for retailers outside the school-supply aisle.
Shoppers are pushing purchases later into the season: only 48% of planned spending is expected to happen by the end of July, down from 61% in 2025, with another 31% landing in early August. Sixty percent plan to shop at more affordable retailers this year, and 68% say they'll shop specifically during summer promotional events. Most back-to-school purchases are still expected to happen in-store rather than online, though online shoppers spend more per trip.
That combination of value-driven families, concentrated into late July and early August, buying in person at affordable big-box and discount retailers, is the environment Leads at Retail is built for.
Same Shopper, Different Opportunity
A parent buying backpacks and school shoes is, in the same trip, a homeowner. Deloitte's data shows these shoppers are budget-conscious but not passive. Thirty-one percent qualify as "hyper value-seekers" who actively compare brands and retailers, and this group spends 14% more than average because they're shopping with intent rather than just cutting corners.
That's the logic behind Old City Media's Leads at Retail program. Rather than compete for attention in a shopper's inbox or newsfeed, Leads at Retail places trained brand ambassadors inside the same high-traffic retail and grocery locations where back-to-school shoppers already are, including Walmart, Ace Hardware, Giant Eagle, Gabe's, Forman Mills, and Grocery Outlet. Brands like Pella, Renewal by Andersen, Power Home Remodeling, and Jacuzzi Bath Remodel already use the program to turn ordinary shopping trips into qualified, in-person conversations with homeowners.
The timing lines up well:
A later season means a wider activation window. Nearly a third of spending now lands in early August rather than July, stretching the in-store opportunity further into the month.
In-store still wins. Deloitte confirms most back-to-school purchases happen in person, not online.
Value-seekers are engaged, not distracted. Shoppers actively comparing brands and hunting for deals are already in a research mindset, a good starting point for an in-person conversation about windows, roofing, or bath remodeling.
Retail foot traffic beats rising digital costs. As back-to-school and back-to-work advertisers flood digital auctions in Q3, a staffed table inside a store your target homeowner is already visiting sidesteps that cost spike.
The Takeaway
For home improvement brands willing to meet shoppers where they already are, the value-driven, in-store trips filling Walmart and other retailer’s aisles in late July and August represent one of the highest-intent, most cost-effective audiences of the year.
If you want to learn more about our Leads at Retail card program, visit LeadsatRetail.com or reach out to Ray Sheehan at ray@oldcitymedia.com or 267-939-0503 to discuss partnering with Old City Media.
Statistics referenced from Deloitte's "2026 Back-to-School Survey," released July 9, 2026