Back-to-School Isn’t What It Used to Be: 3 Trends Advertisers Need to Know for 2026

Back-to-school (BTS) retail sales are projected to hit $85.42 billion in 2026, a 3.3% year-over-year increase that signals a return to discretionary spending after a more cautious 2025. But the season looks different than it used to: the shopping window has shifted, spending has expanded well beyond traditional school supplies, and consumer motivations have evolved. Here’s what market research and MNTN advertiser data reveal about where BTS spend is going and how brands across verticals can capitalize on it.

The BTS Shopping Window Has Shifted

It’s been a long time since the BTS shopping season was confined to just a two-week sprint. What was once concentrated in late-July/August has expanded into a five-month window running from June through October. And within that timeframe, two distinct consumer groups are operating on different timelines.

K-12 families are shopping earlier than ever. June shopping surged in 2025, with 25% of parents planning to shop that month, up from just 14% in 2024. By early July, a record 67% of BTS shoppers had already started purchasing, an increase of 55% from the year prior and the highest figure since National Retail Federation (NRF) began tracking in 2018. Meanwhile, August (historically the peak BTS month) saw its share of shoppers drop sharply, from 41% to 25%.

MNTN advertiser data reinforces this shift. Among advertisers in BTS-relevant industries (school supplies, apparel, consumer electronics, and others), revenue peaked the week of June 8, coming in 28% higher than any other week in the June-October window. Average return on ad spend (ROAS) was strongest in the first three weeks of June and held through mid-July before declining steadily. Conversion rates told the same story, with the sharpest spike landing in late June and early July, suggesting that consumer purchase intent is peaking earlier than brands may expect.

College shoppers, by contrast, skew later: 42% begin shopping just three to four weeks before classes start, and 24% wait until the final one to two weeks as late August and early September start dates approach. Interestingly, our data from advertisers in dorm-adjacent categories (home goods, bedding, and beyond) also reflects this second wave. But that’s a story unto itself, which we’ll get into below.

The “Dorm Effect” is Reshaping Back-to-College Sales

Back-to-college (BTC) is an $88.8 billion spending event, and the industries driving it have evolved in recent years. The top five BTC spending categories in 2025 were electronics, dorm and apartment furnishings, clothing and accessories, food, and personal care. School supplies didn’t even crack the list. For college and university students, this is a season for life purchases, not just academic ones.

Social media is a big contributor to this: #collegelife has accumulated over 30 billion views on TikTok, with influencer dorm tours and aesthetically curated living spaces setting the bar (and the shopping list) for incoming students. One in three U.S. parents reported using social media to guide BTS purchases in 2024, while 53% of Gen Z ordered directly through social platforms, and around 80% say they rely on influencers who share real experiences when making purchase decisions. Students aren’t the only ones feeling it, either: the Facebook group “Dorm Room Mamas” has more than 200,000 members actively planning and coordinating décor purchases for their children.

This is the phenomenon that’s come to be known as the “dorm effect” — a social-media-driven inflation of back-to-college spending into categories that haven’t typically been associated with BTS shopping. Some students are spending upwards of $10,000 on custom dorm designs. And many established interior designers have shifted focus to college dorm clients, with some charging $2,500 and up for design services alone.

Our data backs this up. Among MNTN advertisers in dorm-adjacent categories (n<100), average revenue per advertiser grew 73.6% year-over-year (YoY) during the peak dorm purchasing window (July 1-Aug. 31, 2025), and visits per advertiser more than doubled, climbing 138%. Efficiency improved as well, with average cost per visit (CPV) dropping 49% and cost per acquisition (CPA) decreasing 68%. At the sub-vertical level, mattresses and bedding led in both revenue and ROAS, with home improvement and hardware coming in second for revenue. Perhaps the most unexpected entry was air purifiers and filters, which led all sub-verticals in visit rate with an efficient CPA to match.

BTS Is Emerging as a Major Moment for Health and Wellness Advertisers

Health and wellness has quietly become a significant driver of BTS spending. But this isn’t the same wellness story that we found during the summertime.

For K-12 families, this trend is driven in part by parental anxiety. In 2025, 88% of K-12 parents said health was a bigger concern than ever before, and half said they’d prioritize healthiness over affordability when purchasing BTS items. The result is a shopping list that now routinely includes things like vitamins, healthy snacks, and self-care items. Coupon redemptions increased 61% for health products and 22% for personal care products in the final weeks of the BTS season, indicating that demand in these categories remains high right up until the bell rings.

For college students, on the other hand, this is more of a coming-of-age moment. Personal care is the fifth-largest back-to-college spending category at $7.9 billion, and 86% of BTC consumers purchase personal care items (a higher rate than those buying clothing, shoes, or food). And this opportunity runs longer than the traditional BTS rush: 48% of hygiene products are purchased after students arrive on campus.

MNTN Performance TV data reflects both of these dynamics. Among health and wellness advertisers (n<100), the following metrics improved YoY:

• +88% Average Visit Rate
• +63% Average ROAS
• +16% Average Revenue

This suggests the BTS season is becoming a more powerful moment for wellness brands each year.

Looking at 2025 performance of MNTN health and wellness advertisers across the full June-October window, average visit rate climbed every month, average conversion rates remained remarkably consistent throughout, and average CPA dropped steadily as the season advanced. Meaning, brands that stayed present deep into the season were rewarded with more efficient performance. At the sub-vertical level, skincare led in revenue, but some of the most compelling results came from less obvious categories: vitamins and supplements generated the second-highest amount of revenue, dental care and teeth whitening posted the highest average conversion rate of any sub-vertical, and self-help and improvement led all categories in average visit rate.

The broader implication here extends beyond wellness brands. BTS shoppers, whether parents stocking their kids’ backpacks or students building their first independent lives, are in an emotional state that purely discount-driven messaging may miss entirely. Campaigns that acknowledge the weight of the season, the care behind purchases, and the identity shifts underway are better positioned to cut through the noise.

Do Your Homework: Make the Most of BTS

The BTS season has turned into something far bigger than a late-summer retail push and the brands that treat it that way will be better positioned. Whether you’re targeting K-12 families shopping earlier than ever, college students building out independent living spaces, or wellness-minded shoppers across both audiences, the opportunity is there. The key is showing up at the right time, with the right message. For brands looking to reach these high-intent audiences, Connected TV (CTV) is a natural fit, and it’s proven itself a powerful channel for driving performance throughout the BTS season.