The back-to-school market in the U.S. is estimated to be around $180 billion, and Urban Outfitters, targeting its core college-age customers, is out to get a bigger piece of it this season.
The 200-store chain, known for combining apparel and home in a constantly changing mix of displays and assortments, launched a multifaceted marketing campaign for the back-to-campus demographic earlier this month, centered around the punny theme of “Shift Happens.”
Urban Outfitters, part of URBN’s portfolio of brands, (which also includes Anthropologie and Free People), is one of the few retailers in the country that has successfully combined clothing and home merchandise in a specialty format, targeting a very specific demographic in a very specific way.
While the brand has done back-to-campus promotions before, this year’s effort seems to represent its biggest play ever for students setting up their dorm rooms. One reason driving the move could be the competitive retail landscape. While Urban Outfitters executives would rather talk about their own efforts, the physical absence of Bed Bath & Beyond—a onetime back-to-school powerhouse—clearly has opened a void for other retailers to move into. Urban Outfitters is one player stepping up its efforts, while others include Amazon, Target, Walmart and The Container Store.
“We’ve always been focused on the young customer coming of age,” says Shea Jensen, president of Urban Outfitters. As they head off to college, “this is a big time of transition for them—it’s back to school, but it’s also back to life,” she adds.
The campaign, which launched July 10, includes in-store events or “activations,” as Dmitri Siegel, chief creative, brand and digital officer at Urban Outfitters, puts it to Business of Home. These kicked off with a two-day “Space Shift” event at New York’s Chelsea Factory, with 10 “multifunctional spaces and experiences” based on Pinterest trends and a group of social media influencers creating their own theme boards. Platinum recording artist Tinashe performed “within the captivating backdrop of her very own sound sanctuary, offering visitors an intimate glimpse into her new sound.”
The campaign also featured tie-ins with other brands, in-store personalization workshops, and online storytelling from influencers on their dorm-room decorating styles. “We really believe in the in-store activations,” says Siegel. “Our stores are designed to do these kinds of things.”
For Urban Outfitters, the back-to-school campaign is just its latest vehicle to reach a customer that is a key demographic for many retailers but often hard to reach. The brand’s previous efforts have included in-store performances by Billie Eilish and Post Malone, as well as constantly changing displays and unexpected elements in stores, including vintage products, books, and services like hair salons. The largest store in the chain, across the street from the iconic Macy’s flagship in Manhattan’s Herald Square, is the best example, with three floors that are remerchandised and reset virtually every week.
“One of the things that’s an advantage for us is our speed,” Jensen said. “We have to move as fast as our customer does. We can’t just set up seasonal displays twice a year—our customers will lose interest.”
In addition to freestanding stores and mall locations, the brand’s retail mix includes outposts actually on college campuses, which harken back to its early days as a University of Pennsylvania retailer in the Philadelphia area, where Urban Outfitters is still headquartered. Stores are localized and individually designed so that, as Siegel put it, “we’re not just a bunch of racks.”
Two-thirds of its approximately $1.5 billion in annual revenues for fiscal 2023 came from its stores, and the final third from e-commerce. According to Jensen, the company is not expecting any “model shift” in that balance, particularly since post-pandemic, customers want to get back to in-person shopping. “We still believe stores are a big advantage,” she says.
Coming into the fourth quarter, Jensen says, “We’re feeling good for holiday,” and while the executive wouldn’t give away any secrets, both she and Siegel hinted there would be more promotions on the scale of “Shift Happens” to come later in the year. “We think this is just the beginning,” she adds.
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Warren Shoulberg is the former editor in chief for several leading B2B publications. He has been a guest lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; received honors from the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology; and been cited by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and other media as a leading industry expert. His Retail Watch columns offer deep industry insights on major markets and product categories.
