Although back-to-school shoppers in 2021 are ready for a fresh start this fall after the COVID-19 pandemic made remote learning dominant during 2020, consumers who are most concerned about illness and plan to spend a little more on safety, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers Back-to-School Survey.
In the survey, respondents overall said they plan to spend an average of $954 on school-related items this year versus $961 in 2019 and $1,053 in 2020.
Shoppers planning to spend more this year on back-to-school purchases said they will purchase additional COVID-19 supplies such as masks, sanitizers and disinfecting cloths, a class of merchandise slated for purchase by 33% of respondents. Other factors that tend to boost back-to-school spending are a need to replace wardrobe and/or school supplies or sporting equipment, cited by 32% of respondents; a change in the number of individuals attending school; cited by 27%; the items being more expensive, cited by 22%; and a change in job status or income, cited by 15%.
Promotions remain an important influence on spending, with 86% of back-to-school shoppers saying sales will influence their purchasing, ICSC noted. However, how they engage with promotions differs. Some 47% of back-to-school shoppers said that once they are in a store, promotions influence what they buy while 38% plan their back-to-school shopping around specific promotional events and dates such as sales tax holidays and big sales, and 32% plan to cash in on deals they get from membership or loyalty rewards programs.
Shoppers will take advantage of both in-store and online shopping options in the back-to-school season with 38% planning to make more purchases online and 27% taking advantage of buying online and picking up their purchases in a store, ICSC indicated.
As states across the country continue to fully reopen, the majority of consumers are returning to their pre-pandemic shopping behaviors. Consumer confidence and spending will be the driving force that helps to reinvigorate the U.S. economy. Back-to-school and the upcoming holiday shopping seasons will contribute to elevating profits to the levels we saw prior to the pandemic.
-Tom McGee, ICSC, president and CEO
“As states across the country continue to fully reopen, the majority of consumers are returning to their pre-pandemic shopping behaviors,” Tom McGee, ICSC, president and CEO, said in announcing the survey results. “Consumer confidence and spending will be the driving force that helps to reinvigorate the U.S. economy. Back-to-school and the upcoming holiday shopping seasons will contribute to elevating profits to the levels we saw prior to the pandemic.”
Although things may not be quite back to normal, shoppers are approaching back-to-school shopping as they had before the pandemic, at least for the most part.
“Our back-to-school survey confirms that planning, shopping and spending habits among adults look much like they did before the pandemic,” McGee said. “Consumer spending will help bolster a reinvigorated economy as we emerge from our stay-at-home lives. Consumer traffic and spending continue to increase as regular activities continue to resume across the country.”
