STUDENT PULSE 2021

Students prepare to return to campus this fall and understanding what they need from their school and their bookstore is more important than ever. Moving into uncharted territory after an unprecedented year, these insights can help enrich the student experience and enhance academic achievement.

Insights to Drive Student Success

Barnes & Noble College’s fifth annual Student Pulse report reflects responses from over 129,000 college students who spoke about their shopping behaviors, purchase decisions, and attitudes towards course materials and learning resources – all very revealing in terms of what they need and how schools can support them.

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What you’ll learn in this report

Academic Insights

The link between preparedness and student success is proven.

Preparedness increased in the last year and more students had materials on first day of class.

Retail Insights

Campus bookstores continue to be the top destination for course materials, grad gear, spirit items and supplies.

Students more likely to purchase socially responsible, brands, or those that give back to their schools and/or are made of sustainable materials

Pandemic Effects

Students remain committed to competing their education, despite the pandemic.

They’re now using more digital resources and study tools — a trend that will continue.