Back-to-school spending continued through September, with many consumers continuing to hunt for the best brands and the best deals. As a result, we saw WOM rates tick up slightly month over month, even though there were not many shifts at the category level.
Nearly 19% of all consumers cited WOM as their key purchase driver, up 0.16 percentage points from June 30. The leading categories for the month are a testament to typical buying patterns during this time of year. But with overall WOM rates up 0.66 from September 2024, there is heightened urgency for consumers to make savvier decisions:
🚗 Automotive - 24.59%
📱 Consumer Electronics - 22.12%
👗 Apparel and Accessories - 20.63%
🏈 Sporting Goods - 18.42%
🛋️ Housewares and Home - 17.18%
🧴 Health and Beauty - 16.02%
🗂️ Office - 8.38%
Consumer electronics and apparel saw consistent bumps throughout the month, pointing to the steady stream of purchase activity. And although beauty remains under the radar, we expect to see a healthy bump as we get into peak holiday spending time in late November and early December.
Office remains at the bottom of the pile, mainly because it’s the most downgradable category. Sure, there are niche audiences for specialty journals and pens, but as more households grow more strapped for cash, or at the very least are attempting to save more for holiday shopping, they’re more likely to shift to private label and dollar store brands for these purchases.
