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Survey sees increase in back-to-school spending

6/18/2012

New York -- School is just ending in some areas of the Northeast, and already the first back-to-school shopping survey has been released. The survey, by online shopping site PriceGrabber, reveals that nearly half (46%) of consumers are planning to spend more this back-to-school shopping season than in 2011. In comparison, only 13% of shoppers planned to spend more last year, and this data was reflected in an overall disappointing back-to-school season for retailers in 2011.



In the Back-to-School Shopping Forecast, conducted from May 22 to June 5, 2012, 17% of shoppers plan to start their back-to-school shopping in June, 35% plan to start shopping in July, 44% noted August, and only 3% cited September. In 2011, respondents planned to shop a little later in the summer



“From last year's holiday shopping season through the middle of 2012, we have seen consumers starting to shop earlier surrounding major shopping seasons and holidays, and we expect this trend to continue this back-to-school shopping season,” stated Graham Jones, general manager of PriceGrabber. “While PriceGrabber survey data reveals that many consumers are planning to spend more money this back-to-school shopping season, a few are still hesitant about spending, leading shoppers to search for deals even earlier to take advantage of retailer incentives and discounts such as free shipping, coupons and sales.”



Similar to last year, shoppers still plan to spread out their back-to-school purchases in order to distribute the cost over a longer time period. According to PriceGrabber survey data, 55% of consumers plan to spread out their back-to-school purchases this year.

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