The 2025 back-to-school season revealed a subtle but significant trend: artificial intelligence has settled into families’ shopping habits. Three countries illustrate this evolution with distinct approaches.
United Kingdom: AI plays family advisors
Across the Channel, the 2025 back-to-school season resembles a friendly Black Mirror episode. British retailers have unleashed their chatbots into the wild to guide families in their school purchases.
Concretely? You input your child’s age, his class, his tastes, and the AI will generate a complete personalized list. Not just “96-page notebook,” but “Marvel notebook for Tom, 8 years old, superhero fan, compatible with his Spider-Man pencil case from last year.”
The cleverest part? These systems integrate augmented reality for virtual uniform try-ons and organize TikTok challenges around the most creative “back-to-school setups.” Result: kids compete to have the most Instagrammable backpack, and parents buy more without realizing it.
The British genius: Transforming the back-to-school chore into an engaging family experience. AI doesn’t replace human advice; it amplifies it by creating an emotional connection with the brand.
Canada: Automation that speaks French AND English
In Canada, SMEs have discovered the Holy Grail: AI that handles bilingualism without breaking a sweat. With tools like HubSpot and Shopify boosted by AI, they automate their back-to-school campaigns in French AND English, with local nuances perfectly mastered.
What the numbers reveal: +98% open rate on hyper-personalized SMS campaigns. How? AI analyzes real-time shopping behaviors and instantly tailors offers to the context.
Concrete example: a Montreal bookstore detects that a parent hesitates on math textbooks. The AI automatically sends him a French SMS with a promo on complementary exercise notebooks, at the exact moment he leaves the site. Extremely effective.
The Canadian trick: Don’t view bilingualism as a technical constraint, but as a competitive advantage. AI enables personalization by language AND local cultural habits.
India: The mobile-first retail that’s booming
In India, the back-to-school season becomes a tech showcase. In a country where 70% of purchases are made on mobile, retailers have gone all-in on omnichannel AI.
The recipe that works: AI-powered recommendations + intelligent inventory management + dynamic pricing + conversational agents. All orchestrated to deliver a seamless experience between physical store, mobile app and e-commerce.
Indian families no longer shop; they “converse” with AI assistants that understand their school needs, their budget, and their preferences. The AI even predicts when to repurchase supplies based on the usual wear of each product.
The global back-to-school season has found its AI
These three approaches reveal a simple truth: the most effective marketing AI adapts to local specifics. The Brits lean on family emotion, the Canadians leverage their linguistic diversity, the Indians ride the mobile wave.
The lesson? Don’t copy tools, adapt the usages. AI doesn’t work miracles; it amplifies what already works in your context.
✨ The Idea of the Week
Look at your upcoming seasonal campaigns (Christmas, sales…) and ask yourself: what local specificity could you exploit with AI? Language, culture, shopping habits, geographic constraints… There is surely an angle your competitors haven’t seen.
Like our Canadian friends: turn your constraints into competitive advantages.
Useful links :
- https://marketercalendar.com/events/back-to-school/2025/
- https://digitales.ca/marketing-trends/emerging-digital-marketing-trends-in-canada-for-2025/
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/the-future-of-indian-retail-is-ai-and-omnichannel-a-preview-from-et-soonicorns-summit-2025/articleshow/123022274.cms