(photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
The calendar has flipped to August, and that means attention will soon turn to back-to-school shopping. But the National Retail Federation says for many, back-to-school shopping has already begun. Allison Zeller, the vice president of industry and consumer insights, says this year, 62% already got their back-to-school shopping underway, with a record-breaking 32% having done so all the way back in early June.
“That’s, we think, is because Amazon Prime Day, Walmart deals, Target Circle Days; other major retailers were having sales in June; and consumers reported in a study that they were using those deals to get a head start on their back-to-school,” Zeller explained.
In all, Americans are expected to spend almost $147 billion in back-to-school shopping this year, from kindergarten all the way through college. NRF Chief Economist Mark Mathews says this comes as families’ budgets are a lot tighter due to zero wage growth caused by inflation and tariffs.
“The top 20%, no problem no problem for them. They continue to spend; they continue to have a big buffer. But 80% of the population doesn’t necessarily have the buffer that they once had, especially if we think back to the pandemic,” Mathews noted.
Mathews says despite that, consumers have shown that they are willing to make sacrifices to spend on things that matter to their loved ones.
“37% of consumers say that they’re going to cut back on other spending areas if they have to. And 20% say they’ll utilize ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ options, while 7% say that they will work overtime hours if needed,” Mathews said.
NRF says it expects consumers to spend $40 billion on electronics, $26 billion dollars on clothing, $18 billion dollars on shoes and $14 billion dollars on school supplies.
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