This year's back-to-school shopping season started early. Although affected by economic headwinds and other uncertainties, the back-to-school spending of American consumers this year is expected to reach a new high, and the total back-to-school shopping is expected to exceed $110 billion. Consumer behavior will also improve the inflation and inventory shortage of enterprises in the United States. According to our survey, convenience will become a key shopping decision-making factor.
The National Retail Federation's annual back-to-school survey predicts that the expected back-to-school expenditure this year is equivalent to the record high of last year and will exceed the pre-epidemic level. This fall, the average family will spend $1199 on each child's return to school, the same level as last year. The total expenditure in the United States is close to $74 billion, higher than last year's $71 billion. K-12 (primary and secondary school and kindergarten students) families are expected to spend $37 billion this year, with an average of $864 per family, an increase of $15 over last year.
This year, consumers are ready to go back to school for shopping early, in order to seize the largest promotional benefits, and also to avoid inventory shortages and delivery delays. By the beginning of July, 56% of back-to-school shoppers had started browsing and purchasing related products, up from 51% last year and 44% in 2019. However, the back-to-school shopping season is far from over.
However, due to the impact of inflation, many families may find it difficult to balance their expenditures. According to the NRF report, 38% of families will reduce other expenses or increase working hours to make up for back-to-school expenses.
In the past three years, consumers have made significant changes in the selection of shopping categories for returning to school. Since 2019, the expected expenditure on electronic products has accounted for half of the growth of the back-to-school expenditure of K-12 students (primary and secondary school and kindergarten students) and nearly one-quarter of the growth of the back-to-school expenditure of college students, consolidating its position as the core category in the shopping season of the beginning of school.
In the past two years, the clothing industry has been hit by the restrictions of home Internet classes. Now the situation is improving, and the trend of returning to classroom learning will also drive the demand for changing clothes at the beginning of school. According to NRF data, the sales of furniture and clothing in a college dormitory are expected to reach $10 billion, while the consumption expenditure of K-12 students on new clothes and shoes is expected to be $11 billion and $7 billion respectively.
In terms of shopping channels, online shopping is the preferred way for most shoppers. About 50% of college students and 43% of K-12 students choose to shop online. The NRF forecast shows that 36% of college students and 45% of K-12 students still choose to spend in physical retail stores, followed by discount stores.
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