By CultureBanx Team
- Back-to-school spending is expected to increase by 16% year-over-year to $32.5B for K-12 students
- Parents plan to spend an average of $612 per child as tech gear takes over
Getting your kids ready to take on a new school year won’t be cheap as shoppers plan to spend more on back-to-school gear this year. Despite an unpredictable back-to-school environment, overall spending is expected to increase by 16% year-over-year to $32.5 billion for K-12 students, according to Deloitte’s Back-to-School survey. Parents plan to spend an average of $612 per child, as tech gear takes over back-to-school spending.
Why This Matters: Remote learning has catalyzed sales growth in electronics. Among the top three places consumers will spend the most on school purchases are mass merchant stores at 48%, online-only stores at 15% and dollar stores at 5%. Last year, the back-to-school spending was $529 per household, which was flat compared to 2019. At that time, shoppers were concerned about their safety due to COVID-19 and weren’t sure whether retailers would offer reasonable prices.
Compared to last year, 40% of parents expect to spend more on back-to-school items in 2021. “We’ve entered a new era of schooling where traditional back-to-school supplies are fading in favor of tech, while consumers expect certain conveniences and competitive prices,” Deloitte wrote in a statement
Situational Awareness: The slightly increased back-to-school budget seems to mirror the economic optimism consumers have. Therefore, the rise in back-to-school spending is happening in tandem with overall retail recovery. Even KPMG’s recent back-to-school survey found that consumers plan to spend $268 per child, up from $247 in 2020.
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