At the risk of being pelted with rocks or loudly cursed in the streets, I share with you today the latest stat sheet on how much you all are planning to spend on Back to School shopping in the very near future. Hard though it is to believe, Back to School season is literally just over the horizon and there are a lot of people hoping you’ll be ready to venture into the stores soon to fulfill those student-centered dream sheets.
Believe me, there are lots of retailers who have been hard at work stocking up for the annual trek to the store even as online purveyors are hopeful you’ll launch that process with them soon.
In fact, it’s the team at the website Offers.com that prepared a round of research by polling more than 1,000 parents nationwide in a bid to gain some insight into the Back to School shopping and spending trends they project over the next couple of months.
The survey released today suggests that Back to School spending will be up nearly 18-percent from last year (2016) in total family spending. Most consumers — 54.8-percent — plan to begin their Back to School shopping within the next two weeks, while nearly 27.3-percent actually got that job finished earlier this month, in July.
According to the survey results, the average American spends $208.10 on Back to School shopping for each child. Most consumers — 53.5-percent — will be spending anywhere from $101-to-$300 on each child for Back to School purposes.
In terms of total Back to School spending, the average American spends $428.39 on their family for Back to School items, up from last year’s average of $359.00 per family.
As you might suspect, the most popular Back to School items on most people’s lists are school supplies such as pencils and notebooks — 78-percent — and clothing or shoes — 75.1-percent. The top Back to School products include backpacks, electronics, computers, and tablets.
Carson Yarbough is a Shopping & Savings Expert at Offers.com. She says the survey also notes that nearly two-thirds — 65-percent — of consumers look forward to ending their children back to school in the fall, with 24-percent actually celebrating the much-needed break from the kids. Although it may be the majority, 24.3-percent of consumer reminisce about old times when their own kids go back to school, and 19-percent “just want to take a nap.” Perhaps no so surprisingly, roughly 15-percent of consumers actually shed some tears when sending their kids back off to school at the end of summer.
Back to School shopping isn’t always a party, either — sometimes turning chaotic. In fact, 36.4-percent hate having to spend money on back to school supplies, while 30-percent don’t like dealing with the crowds at retail stores. Another 20.5-percent say it is too difficult to find the items they need, about about 13-percent just don’t like the hassle of taking their kids to shop.
While shopping for Back to School items, 63.6-percent of consumers use coupons to save on their back to school gear, with 41.5-percent using in-store coupons, and 22.1-percent opting for online coupons from places like Offers.com.
