{"id":19037,"date":"2026-08-21T14:56:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T14:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/?p=19037"},"modified":"2026-08-21T15:25:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:25:49","slug":"back-to-school-2026-europe-e-commerce-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/back-to-school-2026-europe-e-commerce-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"Back-to-School 2026: What Europe\u2019s e-commerce data is telling retailers"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A new school year means new routines and a long shopping list to match. From textbooks and trainers to laptops, headphones and sportswear, Back-to-School has grown into a shopping moment that reaches well beyond the stationery aisle.<\/p>

Recent data from several European markets reveals three shifts worth watching and what they could mean for e-commerce retailers as orders move from checkout to the doorstep.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Bigger budgets, more selective shoppers<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Back-to-School spending is rising in several European markets, but the numbers tell a more complicated story than stronger consumer demand.<\/p>

In Spain, planned Back-to-School spending reached \u20ac478 in 2026, up 12% YoY. Yet 28% plan to spend less, while 69% of those spending more blame higher prices. In France, the average budget rose to \u20ac488, up \u20ac79 from 2025, even as 69% of parents say they need to tighten their budgets. In Germany, 47% of parents feel financially squeezed by summer holiday and Back-to-School costs, while 47% of consumers look for special offers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Taken together, the message isn’t simply that Europeans are spending more. Higher prices are making value, comparison and prioritisation increasingly important parts of the Back-to-School decision.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The school shopping list is getting broader and more digital<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The traditional image of Back-to-School shopping may be notebooks, pens and textbooks. The actual basket looks considerably broader.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In Italy, Back-to-School is moving well beyond school supplies: 59% planned to buy clothing, 52% shoes and 44% sportswear, while 52% planned to shop mainly online.<\/p>

Spain shows a similar pattern, with 67% buying clothing and 55% backpacks.<\/p>

In the UK, 36% of parents said social media influenced children\u2019s Back-to-School \u201cmust-haves\u201d, from laptops and headphones to premium water bottles and designer bags.

These are different national markets, but together they illustrate a broader opportunity: Back-to-School increasingly touches fashion, tech, sports and lifestyle and the journey between inspiration and purchase is increasingly digital. For e-commerce retailers, that opens the season to far more categories than those traditionally labelled \u201cschool supplies\u201d.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe challenge is balancing protection, transport efficiency and customer experience while using only the packaging that’s necessary. That’s why PPWR has a much greater operational impact on e-commerce than many businesses initially expect.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Value doesn't always mean buying new<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The pressure on household budgets is also changing how some European families shop.<\/p>

In France, 41% of parents plan to buy second-hand for Back-to-School in 2026, up eight percentage points from 2025, while 44% plan to reuse items they already own.<\/p>

Italy shows similar behaviour around textbooks. Research from Altroconsumo found that more than half of surveyed families with secondary-school children bought at least some textbooks second-hand. Saving money remains the main motivation, but 46% of second-hand buyers also cited reducing waste and environmental impact.<\/p>

Spain adds another signal: among consumers planning to reduce their Back-to-School spending, 36% intend to reuse existing materials and 33% plan to shop second-hand.

Across these markets, circular consumption isn’t replacing new retail. But it is becoming another way consumers balance cost, usefulness and sustainability during a financially demanding season.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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From checkout to the last mile<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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For Back-to-School purchases, timing matters. A backpack or laptop arriving after the first day of school can quickly turn a successful sale into a poor customer experience.

And delivery expectations start before checkout: 48% of European online shoppers have abandoned a cart because of delivery-related issues, while 76% prefer stores that show a specific delivery date at checkout. Interestingly, 76% are also willing to wait longer to avoid delivery fees showing that certainty, choice and value can matter just as much as speed.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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GOFO: Your trusted last-mile partner in Italy<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Seasonal shopping moments like Back-to-School put the last mile to the test. As order volumes rise, retailers need a delivery network that can scale without losing the reliability customers expect.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Growing reach, built-in capacity \u2014<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGOFO now reaches 90% of the Italian population and more than 5,000 ZIP codes, with an average delivery time of 1.4 days and a 99.5% final delivery rate. The network processes an average of 150,000 parcels per day. \n\nOur automated sorting hubs in Milan and Rome provide a combined daily capacity of 420,000 parcels, supported by a growing network of transit depots across Italy.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From Back-to-School to peak season \u2014<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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With strong local capacity and an expanding national network, GOFO helps e-commerce businesses turn seasonal demand into a reliable delivery experience from today’s Back-to-School orders to tomorrow’s peak-season volumes.<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new school year means new routines and a long shopping list to match. From textbooks and trainers to laptops, headphones and sportswear, Back-to-School has grown into a shopping moment that reaches well beyond the stationery aisle. Recent data from several European markets reveals three shifts worth watching and what they could mean for e-commerce […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,35],"tags":[41],"class_list":["post-19037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-post","tag-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19037"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19047,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19037\/revisions\/19047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gofo.com\/it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}