NRF: Back-to-school shopping expected to reach “unparalleled” record high
A new back-to-class shopping survey bodes well for retailers.
Back-to-school spending is expected to reach an “unparalleled” $41.5 billion, up from $36.9 billion last year and the previous high of $37.1 billion in 2021. according to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Back-to-college spending is expected to hit $94 billion, about $20 billion more than last year’s record.
Families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $890.07 on back-to-school items this year, approximately $25 more than last year’s record of $864.35 and a new high.
The increase in expected spending is primarily driven by more demand for electronics, as 69% of back-to-school shoppers expect to buy electronics or other computer-related accessories this year, up from 65% last year and the highest in the survey’s history.
Total spending on electronics is expected to reach a record $15.2 billion. As in past years, the top electronics consumers plan to purchase are laptops (51%), tablets (36%) and calculators (29%).
College Students
Back-to-college students and their families expected to spend an average of $1,366.95 per person, up from $1,199.43 last year, and a new record from the previous record of $1,200.32 in 2021. Since 2019, back-to-college spending has nearly doubled.
Spending on big-ticket items such as electronics and furnishings as well as necessities like food accounts for more than half of the increase in total back-to-college spending this year.
Other findings from the survey are below.
• For all back-to-class shoppers, the top destinations are online, department stores and discount stores.
• As of early July, 55% of consumers who are buying for back-to-class said they have already started shopping. This is on par with last year, but is up from 44% in 2019, and is in line with the trend of consumers shopping earlier for major spending events. While consumers have started shopping early, as of early July, 85% said they still have at least half of their shopping left to do.
• Forty-three percent of those who are spending more than last year say it is because they need more new items, up from 32% last year. Another third (32%) attribute it to needing more big-ticket items such as a computer, phone, calculator or dorm furnishings.
“Even though consumers plan to spend more on school and college-related items this year, they are still looking to find the best value and deals,” Prosper executive VP of strategy Phil Rist said. “Consumers are stretching their dollars by comparing prices, considering off-brand or store-brand items, and are more likely to shop at discount stores than last year.”
Since 2003, NRF has conducted a comprehensive survey on back-to-class shopping trends. This year’s research included 7,843 consumers and was fielded June 30-July 6 with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.