What's driving this: price hikes and potential product shortages they may face later in the season. Some major retailers have already announced their plans to pass cost increases onto consumers, and that makes consumers get their shopping done now before prices increase even further. So if you're a retailer who depends, at least in part, on a successful back to school shopping season. It's not too early, as counterintuitive as it may seem to begin, thinking about displaying inventory, pushing promotions, and catering to the early back to school shopping cohort, already active in getting their back to school shopping done early this year.