- Combined spending on the return to school and college is expected to surpass 2021’s record of $108.1 billion.
- The average back-to-school expense per child will increase by 8% between 2021 and $661 per child in 2021.
- Comparatively to the 2021-2022 school years, consumers are more likely to bargain shop, buy more generic products, or make do with what was available last year.
The school year hasn’t officially begun. All Americans should learn a lesson: We are spending more on our food. back-to-school shopping.
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Students returning to school or college have a host of needs: books and supplies, new clothes and shoes, a computer or other electronics, and, perhaps, furniture and goods to outfit a college dorm room.
Expect parents to spend record amounts in getting their children ready for school. Comparatively to a year ago back-to school spending is expected remain steady at $36.9billion, a dip by 0.5% back-to-college spending will increase an estimated 4% to $73.9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Overall, combined spending could reach $110.7 billion, up 2% from last year’s record of $108.1 billion, Katherine Cullen, the National Retail Federation’s senior director of industry and consumer insights, told USA TODAY.
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How much will parents pay back to school this school year?
On average, parents will spend $661 per child in grades K-12 on back-to-school purchases – 8% more than in 2021 ($612) – according to a 2022 Deloitte Back-to-School Survey1.200 parents in the United States. The firm found that the average pre-pandemic spending per child was $519 in 2019.
In another measure of back-to-school spending, the National Retail Federation estimates households will spend an average of $864 for the 2022-2023 K-12School year up almost 2% over the $849 spent 2021 according to a survey of 7,830 consumers, conducted by the federation and market data company Prosper Insights & Analytics.
The survey found that the household’s back-to college spending of $1199 per household is stable compared to the $1,200 they spent last year.
How will inflation impact back to school spending?
InflationAfter hitting a 40 year-high of 9.1% June, the decline has continued in July. consumer prices were up 8.5%Compared to a year ago.
The survey by the retail federation found that although consumers were concerned about inflation driving up prices for back to school spending, they still expected to spend 40.6% less than in 2019 on back-toschool spending and 35.5% more for back-to college spending.
“Higher prices and inflation are very much top of mind for this year’s consumers,” Cullen said during a July 20 presentation on YouTube.
According to a survey by the retail federation, more than two thirds (68%) of shoppers reported higher prices for clothing, accessories, school supplies, footwear, electronics, and furniture.
Back-to-school items were priced, on average, 15% higher than a year ago, according to retail analytics firm DataWeave. According to the firm, one of the most affected supplies has seen a price rise is:
- Backpack prices are up nearly 12% to an average of $70.
- Lunch boxes have risen 14% to more than $25.
- Notebooks and folders up 31% to $3.74
According to consumer data firm, office supplies saw the highest rises among consumer products. Klover. Examples: Sharpies and Scotch tape prices have increased by more than 50% in the past year.
Sydnie Bryant is a single mom who works for herself in Sarasota. She said she shop online and at Dollar Tree to buy clothes for her sixth and eighth grades.
“For me, the hard part right now isn’t that school supplies are so much more but that everything else is so much more,”She spoke. “My kids and I live in a one-bedroom apartment because pay hasn’t caught up with cost of living. We will figure it out but that is the balancing act single parents are doing right now.”
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“People are dealing with higher grocery and gas prices and for back to school, which means you’re really going to have to budget because this is typically the second largest spending event for families in a year behind what they spend for holiday,” Lupine Skelly, Deloitte’s retail research leader, said in a July 14 Deloitte Insights podcast.
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When should people shop for back to school? Some people believe that the earlier the better.
The retail federation found that more than half (56%) of shoppers started their return-to school purchases in July. This is up from 51% and 52% in 2020.
Compared to last year, shoppers said they were frequenting sales more often, doing more comparative shopping online, buying more store brand and generic products, and making do with last year’s school items, Cullen said.
“Consumers are also doing other things,”During the presentation, she spoke. “They’re working overtime or taking on additional hours. And they’re also using some different payment methods like buy now, pay later, which can be a way of spreading out some of the costs.”
A wardrobe that is constantly changing for growing teens and children.
Barbie Simonson of Rock Hill in South Carolina said that summer vacation was abandoned to make way for smaller weekend getaways to offset the back-to-school expenses for her daughters, ages eleven and fourteen.
She shared that they were able to get more clothing for less money through clearance racks and church giveaways. Her daughter entering high school, “needed a whole new wardrobe, as her middle school required uniforms. That meant at least seven or eight full outfits that a teenager would be happy to wear. Even with coupons, back-to-school sales and tax-free weekends, I still spent over $700 just on new clothes and shoes for her,”Simonson said.
“Last year, I could find a decent outfit for about $50-$75 that a teen would be happy wearing. Today? I struggled to get under $100 for most outfits and accessories.”
Her younger daughter is “growing so fast that this will be the third time this year we have replaced her wardrobe,” Simonson said. “She is still in elementary school, so I can get away with Target, Old Navy and the like. Crocs are the ONLY shoe she will wear and you can’t find them under $60 anymore.”
According to the Deloitte survey, mass merchant stores will receive the majority (49%)of their business. But online-only sites have become a more frequented destination, getting an estimated 16% of spending. There are many options for spending, including department stores, specialty clothing shops, dollar stores, and fast fashion apparel retailers.
Despite inflation concerns having somewhat abated, “they still exist for consumers,” Stephen Rogers, managing director of Deloitte’s consumer industry center, told USA TODAY. “Parents will prioritize this and make it happen for kids this back-to-school season.”
Are you still looking for back-to school shopping ideas? Rogers has a tip. “Retailers may begin to discount inventory as we move toward September.”
Follow Mike Snider Twitter: @mikesnider.
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