More consumers opting for in-person back-to-school shopping

Derek Smith goes back-to-school shopping with his daughters on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Ottawa. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa)

The return to the classroom is just around the corner and with back-to-school shopping already underway this year, the trend is to do shopping in-person rather than online.

Derek Smith is starting to get everything ready before his daughters head back to the classroom.

"We just got to get some clothes, backpacks, lunch stuff and things like that," said Smith, an Ottawa resident.

Smith and his daughters prefer to do their shopping in-person.

"In-person is best to make sure the clothes fit on the kids," he said. "They get to see what they want in terms of styles, colours, and that kind of stuff, but if you get it online then sometimes it looks so different when it comes in the mail."

In-person shopping is the trend right across the country.

The Retail Council of Canada says three out of four consumers will shop in-store for back-to-school, rather than online. It's a big change in behaviour in comparison to the pandemic era when 40 per cent opted to go online.

"Online e-commerce sales are still growing, but still the vast majority of sales in retail are down at the store level. You know, it's still well over 80 to 85 per cent, depending on the category," said Bruce Winder, a retail analyst.

Winder says there's a variety of reasons for the post-pandemic shift.

"Some companies have become more strict with online returns and that may be a situation where some consumers just don't want to deal with that in September because you know the kids are back in school and there's a lot going on," said Winder.