The National Retail Federation is forecasting that consumers will spend record amounts for both school and college supplies as families and students plan to return to in-person classrooms this fall.
NRF announced that consumers responding to its annual back-to-school survey conducted with Prosper Insights & Analytics plan on spending $848.90 per family on school items, up $59 from last year’s back-to-school season. College students and their families plan to spend an average of $1,200.32 on college or university items, an increase of $141 versus last year’s back-to-school season, according to NRF.
Total back-to-school spending should reach a record $37.1 billion, NRF stated, up from $33.9 billion last year, with more than half of the increase due to additional spending on electronics and dorm furnishings. Total back-to-college spending should reach a record $71 billion, the survey determined., up from $67.7 billion in 2020.
As of early July, the survey indicated, 51% of K to 12 and college shoppers had begun looking for the items they will need when classes begin this year. Still, 76% of K to 12 shoppers were waiting on lists for at least some school supplies as of early July.
On average, consumers reported that they had completed 18% of their back-to-class purchases by early July. Among those with at least half of their shopping left to complete, 51% said it was because they did not yet know what they would need while 48% said they were waiting for the best deals. In another influencing factor, 43% of all back-to-class shoppers said they planned to use the money they received from the United States government stimulus to purchase back-to-school items this year.
Demonstrating an eye for a deal, 39% of survey respondents said they took advantage of recent sale events such as Prime Day, Target Deal Days and Walmart’s Deals for Days to shop specifically for school items, NRF noted. The most popular destinations for K to 12 shoppers were online, at 48%, department stores, at 48%, discount stores, at 44%, clothing stores, at 41%, office supplies stores, at 27%, and electronics stores, at 27%, NRF pointed out. For college shoppers, the top destinations were online, at 43%, department stores, at 33%, discount stores, at 30%, office supplies stores, at 29%, and college bookstores, at 28%.
“The pandemic forced parents and their school-aged children to quickly adapt to virtual learning, and they did it with an incredible amount of resolve and flexibility,” NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said in announcing the survey results. “We enter the new school year with plans to return to the classroom and retailers are prepared to help Americans find and purchase whatever they need to make this transition as seamless as possible.”
