Back To School Spending Up, Down & All Around

Like the polls that put Obama up one day in Ohio and McCain up the other, it seems there are different projections floating around out there about just how much parents in this cash-strapped economy are going to shell out on their "back to school" shopping trips. The National Retail Federation is unsurprisingly positive, estimates:

…that the average family with school-aged children is expected to spend $594.24 on back-to-school purchases. That's up from $563.49 last year. Overall back-to-school spending on kids K-12 is expected to hit $201 billion this year. (Media Life Magazine, second item)

According to yesterday's Media Post, reg. required, Deloitte says there will be a slump:

Deloitte says 71% of shoppers plan to spend less this year than they did last year–and by a lot. Some 48% say they plan to spend at least $100 less. As many as 90% will head to discounters for at least some of their shopping, and 37% say they will shop at dollar stores.

Youth Trends is also not so optimistic in its Back to School shopping report stating: "As we expected the combination of reduced funds received from parents (and other relatives) along with a general mindset of deferring big ticket purchases (think laptops and residence furnishings) will put a heft crimp on planned spending for back to school '08."

Here are some more highlights from the Youth Trends report:

- More than eight in ten respondents said they plan to do the majority of their back to school related shopping at discount mass retailers like Wal-Mart and Target.

- More than half of all respondents (64% of females) said they will only purchase products that are on "sale" or products that come will a special offer like a rebate exclusively for students.

- We expect to see the first pull back from some of the higher priced items like premium denim ($80 and above), dresses, knits and even those $40 and $50 fragrances.

- About two thirds of respondents (64%) said they will spend more time this year compared to last year searching for product deals online and about four in ten respondents (38%) said they are more likely to purchase sale products online this season.

- Respondents plan to spend $427 for back to school items, which is down considerably from $616 last year.

For their part two highlights (in one big long paragraph) focusing on must-have items check out today's post. I think they're posting one more tomorrow…

Related:

Staples teams with Bed Bath & Beyond for back to school (Media Post, reg. required)

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