Back-to-school shopping can be complicated and stressful for parents—they want high quality, on-trend and age-appropriate items for their little scholars to make sure their year starts off right.
Why can this time be so fraught for parents?
“I think it’s intuitive. They obviously love their kids and they want the best for them for back-to- school,” says Gail Banack, senior vice-president, Kids, Baby & Family Entertainment for Indigo Books & Music Inc., who oversees a team charged with sourcing new product for this busy time of year.
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And ask any kid—getting set up for the classroom means products need to not only look cool but also reflect current trends.
That’s where Indigo has parents covered with a range of must-haves to take kids back to school in style, says Banack. The retailer is stocked up with high-quality essentials, from stationery to locker accessories and pencil cases.
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“Our assortment is very curated. There’s not a lot of fluff. We really know what the customers want.”
Banack says for most shoppers, choosing the right backpack is the first step, and it’s the foundational piece on which all the rest of the school supplies are based.
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Following the perfect backpack, parents can browse online or in-store through Indigo’s new selection of fun, modern and colourful school supplies from pencils to laptop covers. The retailer features exclusive product lines designed for Indigo—including Wonder Co. and Crocodile Creek. These lines include backpacks with matching water bottles and lunch kits.
Another popular line for older teens and adult learners is nōta, which is designed by Indigo and features sustainably made modern and colourful pens, journals, planners and FSC certified stationary.
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Indigo has books at its core, so of course, books remain an important part of both summer and back-to-school prep.
“With books being who we are, education and back-to-school is a natural fit,” says Banack. Parents visit Indigo for summer reading and curriculum books over the summer, to prevent the “summer slide” when children lose some of the learning progress they made over the school year.
WATCH: Ask the Educator: Avoiding that summer slide
As for trendy items, Banack says child and teen products closely follow movie and toy trends. So this year, pink is a hot colour thanks to the Barbie movie and popping up in the colours of the IScream line of accessories.
And for children ages five to ten, Pokemon, Minecraft, Super Mario Bros. and Roblox are ever-popular, she says.
She notes that “kids have more decision-making power when it comes to this stuff. Because you want things your kids are going to like. It’s setting them up for excitement about school and learning, so both parents and kids agree very easily when kids find something that they really want.”
Books for students of all ages
These books are from Indigo’s Teacher’s Choice booklist, a yearly educator-approved booklist for kids of all ages that will keep them reading, laughing, and learning.
For all your back-to-school shopping needs visit Indigo.