Back-to-School stress is skyrocketing—and parents are desperate for relief…how can your brand tap into this hidden demand?

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As the school season unfolds, all eyes are on the kids—new supplies, clothes and schedules. Yet, behind the scenes, it’s the parents who are managing the chaos, balancing countless responsibilities to ensure their children are ready for the year ahead. Could brands be missing a huge opportunity in this frenzy by not catering to the parents themselves?

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To gain deeper insights, Glimpse surveyed 100 parents of school-aged children to capture their attitudes, thoughts, advice and stress points during the back-to-school season.

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One key finding for marketers: 60% of back-to-school parents are engaging in self-care at least occasionally, if not daily during this stressful time.

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Self-Care: The Underrepresented Market

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With Gen Z gradually becoming the dominant group of parents, there’s a growing emphasis on self-care—especially during the chaotic months of August and September. Self-care, defined as intentional activities dedicated to nurturing one’s mental and emotional well-being, is not only becoming widely understood, but becoming widely prioritized.

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To further explore its rising popularity with parents, we asked “Which self-care products or services do you use to manage stress during this time?” The responses highlighted a diverse range of preferences:

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These findings suggest that there is no one-size-fits all approach when it comes to self-care, but certain outlets—like meditation tools and books/podcasts—are particularly popular among parents. For brands offering self-care products or services, this presents a unique opportunity to tailor back-to-school campaigns specifically to parents. The appeal is only increasing, solidified through the follow-up question: “Would you consider purchasing self-care products if they were a part of a back-to-school promotion?” to which 49% stated yes and 37% said maybe.

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Time Management & Financial Strain

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If you’re a parent, are you struggling with time management, financial stress, and finding time for self-care? If so, you’re not alone; in fact, when asked, “What is your biggest back-to-school stressor?” nearly half of respondents (49%) chose time management, followed closely by financial pressure at 38%.

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Starting with time management, we dug further into these opinions. When asked, “What is your biggest time management challenge during the back-to-school season?” Results showed:

We then asked “What time-saving products do you currently use to help manage your schedule?”—and the majority (51%) responded with “None”. This reveals a significant unmet market need, presenting a prime opportunity for brands to step in. While numerous clothing and school supply brands capitalize on the back-to-school rush, companies offering meal kits, scheduling apps, childcare services, driver services or AI organization tools may be missing out on a valuable chance to broaden their market reach.

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Time management may be the largest stressor for parents of returning children, though financial strain significantly shapes their shopping experiences. With inflation impacting consumer behavior, affordability has become a critical focus for effective marketing strategies.

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Using Glimpse’s AI Analytics tool, we were able to pinpoint how different types of parents make their back-to-school decisions. The data revealed that younger parents (ages 18-24) heavily rely on social media recommendations (40%) and online shopping (40%) to guide their purchases. In contrast, older parents (ages 55-64) prefer traditional retail stores (59%) and online shopping (35%).

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This trend suggests that while social media ads have long driven sales and brand recognition for all types of businesses, the platforms with the greatest impact are evolving. Parents are increasingly adopting the same habits as their kids, falling victim to the ease of scrolling, discovering and purchasing in the matter of seconds on TikTok and Instagram Shops. Brands can capitalize on this knowledge during the back-to-school season by creating quick, engaging content and offering time-sensitive promotions, making it as seamless as possible for parents to shop impulsively and efficiently.

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The AI Analytics tool also uncovered gender differences in back-to-school stressors, noting that women are more likely to experience financial pressure (47%) compared to men (25%), indicating a stronger focus on budgeting and purchasing for school-related expenses. On the other hand, time management emerged as a significant stressor for both genders, but it was more pronounced among men (57%).

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These insights pave the way for hyper-personalized back-to-school targeting. For example, targeting 18-24 year old moms is best done with financial-focused campaigns run on TikTok or Instagram, while 55-64 year old dads may respond better to time-management tools via traditional outlets like billboards or commercials.

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These are just some examples of how the data derived from Glimpse’s platform can enhance marketing strategies and improve brand-consumer alignment. Beyond gender and age, the platform’s insights extend to hobbies, lifestyle choices, dietary choices, annual income and 25+ additional data points.

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Final Thoughts

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While children will always be the priority for parents, it’s important to recognize the mental and physical strain that the back-to-school season places on parents themselves. Integrating self-care products and services into back-to-school campaigns could be a win-win: reducing stress for parents while boosting sales for self-care brands through targeted marketing.

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These insights also reveal the diverse and unique needs of parents when making decisions for their children. Glimpse enables companies and brands to understand their audience on a more personalized level, generating data-driven decisions that allow for hyper-targeted campaigns and more effective market reach.

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Reach out to Glimpse today to discover how you can understand your audience in valuable ways!