Mexico's back-to-school shopping season hit by coronavirus uncertainty

The Mexican government recently issued a statement pointing out that since only 44.3% of households in the country have computers and 56% of households have access to the Internet, and almost half of the households do not have access to the Internet, the student dropout rate has increased significantly. Therefore, face-to-face classes are tentatively scheduled to resume on August 30.

However, the complex epidemic situation in Mexico has added uncertainty to students' travel arrangements for returning to school. The real-time big data report on the epidemic shows that the number of newly confirmed cases in Mexico has continued to rise since May this year . As of August 23, the number of confirmed cases has exceeded 410,000.

A survey by El Financiero showed that 62% of Mexicans refused to return to school. Similarly, when asked whether people would consider sending their children to school, 24% of families said they would send their children to school, while 74% said they would prefer to wait and see before making a decision.

Eduardo Contrera, chairman of the Mexico City Business Association , said that due to the resurgence of the epidemic, Mexican families are doubtful about the time of returning to school, so they are very cautious in purchasing learning-related products .

In the pre-pandemic back-to-school shopping season, merchants could get rich sales without too much marketing and discount activities, but according to the analysis provided by the e-commerce platform Tiendeo, in terms of school supplies, Mexican parents are more willing to buy only necessities this year . Indispensable learning products such as backpacks and notebooks increased by 69% and 163% respectively. Other learning products, such as pencils and colored pencils, decreased by 68%, desks decreased by 26%, printers decreased by 18%, and computers decreased by 15%.

On the contrary, sales of masks increased by 200%, demand for gloves increased by 130%, and sales of antibacterial gel increased by 69%. Tiendeo analyzed that this is because Mexicans are prioritizing a safe return to school and stockpiling basic products to protect and clean their children, given that the epidemic is still severe.

The platform believes that it may be necessary to wait until the situation of the epidemic in Mexico becomes clearer before sales of related learning products can usher in a new era.

Back to School Shopping Season

Mexico