NRF Survey; Department stores and apparel stores attract last-minute back-to-school shoppers

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGresearch showed that department stores, clothing stores and websites are expected to attract most of the last-minute back-to-school purchases.



According to NRF’s 2011 Back-to-School survey, the average family has completed 43% of shopping for K-12 students, similar to last year’s 43.2%. College students and their parents have completed 44.3% f their shopping, up slightly from last year’s 43.1%.



While discount retailers will remain the top shopping destination for last-minute back-to-school shoppers (56.9%), the number of people who will shop at department stores and specialty clothing stores as school approaches is expected to jump substantially this year. According to the survey, 47.1% of last-minute shoppers plan to visit department stores, a 10% increase over last year’s 42.7%. Just over 40% (40.8%) plan to visit specialty clothing stores, a 19% jump over last year’s 34.3%, and 21.7% say they plan to shop online, up from last year’s 16%.



College shoppers will also flock to discount stores (48.2%) for their last-minute purchases. The number of people shopping in department stores (39.6%) and clothing stores (27.7%), however, also rose among that crowd.



An NRF survey released in July estimated that combined K-12 and college spending will reach $68.8 billion, serving as the second biggest consumer spending event for retailers behind the winter holidays. The average family of K-12 students will spend approximately $600 on back to school while college students and their parents will spend an average of $800.