Character is key for back-to-school shoppers

Austin, Texas – Parents are always telling their school-aged children that character is key, and they also apply a version of that maxim to back-to-school shopping. According to a recent survey by RetailMeNot, parents say their kids want school supplies featuring popular characters from films and TV shows.



Respondents indicated their children want "Minions"-themed school supplies the most (33%) followed by "Jurassic World" (31%), "SpongeBob" (24%) and "Star Wars" (22%).



Regardless of whether a popular character is featured, a majority (87%) of parents plan on purchasing new school supplies this year, and more than a quarter (26%) of all parents plan to spend more than $300 per child this fall alone.



Parents typically spend nearly two weeks, on average, shopping for back-to-school necessities. Even though deep discounts are available as early as July, just more than a third (34%) of parents shop for the back-to-school season only during the sales that typically occur in August.