Survey: Back-to-school shoppers hitting stores earlier this year

Ninety-three percent of consumers are starting their back-to-school shopping before classes begin and receipts promise to be strong for stores.



Three-quarters of the 2,000 shoppers surveyed by JLL recently said they planned to spend between $100 and $500 on school purchases, and most of those transactions figure to take place at brick-and-mortar locations. Only 19% said they’d buy supplies online and just 25% figured to look to the Web for apparel.



Though low prices were their chief consideration for purchases, quality came second — an indicator that consumers would be spreading their back-to-school dollars across a wide range of retailers. Department stores (54%) and superstores (51%) led their shopping itineraries and one-third planned to be stopping in at specialty stores, naming American Eagle, Old Navy, Ross Dress for Less, and The Children’s place as favorite destinations.



“This year, we found that consumer income seems to have little effect on their budgets or behavior when it comes to back-to-school shopping. The top four shopping destinations were consistent across income groups,” said Holly Rome, director of national leasing for JLL Retail.



The ranking of categories to be shopped remained the same as last year: apparel, supplies, books, and electronics.