JLL: Back-to-school shopping to rise nearly 22%; physical stores most popular option
There is good news for retailers in an annual survey of consumers’ back-to-school spending intentions.
Parents plan to spend 21.8% more on back-to-school shopping this year, signaling positive implications for retail sales and a successful shopping season, according to JLL’s Back-to-School Shopping survey. They also plan to start earlier than ever.
The survey found that parents across all income groups — especially those with higher incomes — intend to allocate a larger share of their budgets to discretionary products rather than school-required items.
“For the second consecutive year, parents are increasing their per-child spending from $390 to $475, despite concerns about inflation,” said Keisha Virtue, Senior Analyst of Retail Research at JLL. “Our survey demonstrates that parents are prioritizing back-to-school essentials and will continue to play a crucial part in driving consumer spending and foot traffic.”
When it comes to choosing where to shop, Walmart, Amazon and Target remain top choices for parents. Other top retailers include Costco, Old Navy and Dollar General.
JLL noted that almost 90% of parents will interact with physical stores in some way for their back-to-school shopping, emphasizing the continued importance of brick-and-mortar retailers in this sector. In fact, parents will spend more than 63% of their shopping budgets in stores versus online, and this is especially true of high-income shoppers.
The report also reveals that while sales, deals and coupons remain important to parents, about 48% of parents will buy fewer products or purchase second-hand to save money. Additionally, there is an increase in the number of parents planning to visit multiple stores, suggesting that they are willing to spend more money in the process.
Malls
According to the survey, malls have gained popularity for back-to-school shopping, with the proportion of parents planning to shop at malls for their back-to-school needs has increased six percentage points from 2023.
Also, parents who plan to visit malls for back-to-school shopping are more likely to spend significantly more than the average, with an average budget of $656. Additionally, nearly half of mall shoppers (45.8%) plan to visit four or more stores, indicating that they will spend more money in the process.
“The mall offers parents a wider variety of options and allows them to have a more comprehensive shopping experience for their back-to-school needs,” said Kristin Mueller, president of Retail Property Management at JLL. “With a multitude of retailers offering deals throughout the back-to-school shopping season, we can expect the malls to be a go-to shopping destination this season.”
Starting early
This year, parents plan to start back-to-school shopping significantly earlier. More than 75% of parents expect to have already begun shopping by July, showing a trend of consumers wanting to get their shopping done sooner.
Additionally, about 25% of parents reported they have already started back-to-school shopping. This could explain the increase in May retail sales across school-related categories, including electronics, sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores, general merchandise stores and clothing stores, according to JLL.
“We are seeing a positive shift in parents’ shopping habits for back-to-school,” said Naveen Jaggi, President of Retail Advisory Services at JLL. “With the hefty rise in parents shopping in physical stores and the availability of multiple retail options, parents are taking advantage of sales, deals and coupons while also exploring different store options to find the best value for their back-to-school needs.”