How to Crush Back-to-School Sales on Amazon

The back-to-school season is a key growth period for retailers as it marks a significant seasonal shift immediately after the surge of Amazon Prime Day. Back-to-school shopping is starting earlier every year, and recognizing this trend is essential to staying ahead. Brands must adapt swiftly and strategically to capture this early demand. This allows businesses to effectively leverage the extended shopping window and maximize their sales potential.

In this blog, we will provide tactical strategies tailored for Amazon advertisers, to boost performance throughout August and September.

1: Why Back-to-School Matters on Amazon

The back-to-school season represents a massive industry worth over $100 billion, encompassing everything from school supplies to electronics, apparel, and dorm essentials. According to an annual survey conducted by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, two-thirds (67%) of back-to-school shoppers began purchasing items as of early July.

Amazon has become a primary destination for parents and students seeking convenience, fast shipping, and competitive pricing. The combination of high purchase intent and a compressed shopping window during this period means that strategic and early advertising is crucial for brands aiming to capture a significant share of the BTS market on Amazon.

2: Target High-Value Audiences: Parents, Students, and Educators

To effectively tap into the back-to-school market, it's essential to identify and target the key shoppers: parents, college students, and teachers. Amazon offers a powerful way to reach these groups through its in-market audiences.

Who to target:

🛍 Parents shopping for K–12 essentials 

🏫 College students furnishing dorms

✏️ Teachers prepping classrooms

How to reach them:

• In-Market Audiences like “Back to School Shoppers,” “College Dorm Shoppers,” and “School Supply Buyers”
• Sponsored Display and DSP to expand beyond keyword-based campaigns
• Retargeting to recapture browsers and boost conversion rates

Pro Tip: Use DSP to serve top-of-funnel awareness ads early, then retarget via Sponsored Display as urgency builds.

3: Keyword & Category Strategy

To make the most of the back-to-school shopping season, it’s a strategic must to refine your keyword and category strategy. Start by optimizing for popular search trends to capture relevant traffic.

Keywords to prioritize:

• Grade-specific queries: “school supplies for 4th grade”
• Use-case driven terms: “dorm storage under bed,” “laptop for college student”
• Budget-sensitive searches: “affordable lunch kits,” “student backpack under $30”

Expand your reach by incorporating long-tail back-to-school queries into your Sponsored Products campaigns, ensuring you're visible for more specific and niche searches. Additionally, leverage category targeting to capture shoppers browsing related products, such as lunchboxes and planners, to increase your chances of discovery and drive incremental sales.

4. Upgrade Your Creative to Reflect Seasonal Needs

The most effective BTS campaigns use tailored creative that connects with what shoppers are actively experiencing.

What to refresh:

• Ad copy: Refresh your ad copy with seasonal language, such as "Stay organized this school year" and "Top picks for back to class," to capture their attention.
• Product imagery: Incorporate lifestyle imagery that showcases kids packing bags, dorm room setups, and classroom moments to create an emotional connection and help shoppers envision your products in their daily lives.
• A+ Content: Highlight the key benefits of your products, such as durability, value-packed bundles, and student-friendly pricing, to make a compelling case for purchase.

Don’t skip mobile: Most shoppers will be browsing from phones, creative should be legible and compelling in small formats.

5: Budget and Bid Strategy: Frontload to Win Early and Stay Competitive

Late August is not the time to launch. The most successful brands scale earlier and bid smarter. Begin ramping up your campaigns now, rather than waiting until mid-August, to gain a competitive edge and capture early shoppers.

Budget recommendations:

• Increase spend by 20–30% on top-performing ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Numbers) associated with back-to-school categories.
• Use campaign performance history to identify your proven seasonal winners.

Bid strategy tips:

• Layer in dayparting: boost bids during peak traffic windows (evenings and weekends) to ensure your ads are shown when potential customers are most active.
• Use placement multipliers for top-of-search to capture higher-converting clicks.
• Monitor ACOS and TACOS daily and adjust based on the shopping phase (awareness vs. decision-making).

Avoid waste: Pause non-seasonal campaigns or limit spend on products with low BTS relevance.

Conclusion

It’s a growth imperative to take action now to prepare for the back-to-school shopping season. Amazon presents a unique opportunity to reach a vast audience of students, parents, and educators at scale, making it an ideal platform to boost your sales and brand visibility. We encourage you to audit your current strategy, refine your approach, and implement the tactics discussed to maximize your success. 

Ready to optimize your Amazon back-to-school strategy? Contact Straight Up Growth for a free audit and unlock your full potential this season.