Back-to-School Spending Expected Rise 5%

New York City Consumers said they plan to spend an average of $590 on back-to-school clothes and supplies this year, according to a survey conducted by Brand Keys, a New York City-based brand and customer loyalty research consultancy.

“It appears that the current economic situation has dampened back-to-school share-of-wallet,” said Robert Passikoff, president, Brand Keys. “We can only expect a 5% increase in spending this year.”

The survey, which includes assessments from 10,000 households with school-aged children, was drawn from the nine U.S. Census regions.

“Unlike other major purchase events like Mother’s and Father’s Days, there’s a more lopsided distribution in terms of which retailers will be the beneficiaries of consumers shopping for back-to-school,” said Passikoff.

The breakdown of “preferred” retailer-types was as follows: discount stores, 85%; department stores, 55%; office supply, 50%; online, 40%; specialty outlets, 32%; catalogs, 25%, the report said.