Nearly 4 in 10 Parents Will Head Online for Back-to-School Shopping
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) back-to-school (K-12) and back-to-college shopping this year will reach $83.8 billion, making it the second biggest consumer spending event for retailers, after the winter holidays.
The NRF’s 2012 Back-to-School spending survey, conducted by BIGinsight, found that the average person with children in grades K-12 will spend $688.62 on their children, a 14.1 percent increase from the $603.63 spent last year. Total back-to-school spending is expected to reach $30.3 billion.
Meanwhile, NRF’s Back-to-College survey found that college students and their families will spend an average of $907.22 on items like dorm furniture and personal care items, up from $808.71 last year. Total back-to-college spending is expected to reach $53.5 billion this year.
Back-to-school and back-to-college spending will combine for $83.8 billion this year, according to NRF.
With regard to back-to-school shopping, parents are each expected to spend $246.10 on clothes and $217.88 on electronics. According to NRF, 59.6 percent are expected to invest in some sort of electronic device this year, up from 51.9 percent who were expected to do so last year.
The average person with children in grades K-12 will spend $129.20 on shoes and $95.44 on school supplies such as notebooks, pencils and backpacks, according to NRF.
According to the report, 51.1 percent of people plan to shop for sales more often, up from 50.0 percent last year.
Also, 59.9 percent of back-to-school shoppers will head to department stores, up from 57.0 percent last year and the highest response in the survey’s 10-year history. The report also found that 39.6 percent of parents will head online for their back-to-school shopping, up from 31.7 percent last year.
NRF found that 47.8 percent of parents are planning to start their back-to-school shopping three weeks to one month before school starts, up from 42.4 percent last year. Meanwhile, 22.3 percent of respondents said they would start their back-to-school shopping at least two months before school starts, up from 21.8 percent last year.
According to the survey, 83.5 percent of back-to-college shoppers say the economy is impacting their spending plans. NRF also found that 34.6 percent of people will do more comparative shopping for their back-to-college needs this year, while 20.5 percent will shop online more often.
According to The Retail Email Blog, nearly 15 percent of retail emails mentioned back-to-school, with a peak expected in mid-August.
Sources:
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1405
http://www.retailemailblog.com/2012/07/week-end-trends-back-to-school-season.html
