Once summer comes to a close, school-aged children are not the only ones who dread the first day of school. According to a recent survey by RetailMeNot (www.retailmenot.com), a leading digital offers destination that helps consumers save money, and Kelton Global (www.keltonglobal), saying goodbye to summer break generally causes parents to feel stress about the financial burden that back-to-school shopping brings. A majority (87%) of parents plan on purchasing new school supplies this year, and more than half (59%) of Americans believe the cost of education has increased since they were in school. Back-to-school spending looks like it will be down slightly from last year ($246 vs. $263 per child). Over a quarter (26%), of all parents plan to spend more than $300 per child and yet, more than 1 in 4 parents (26%) express concern over the cost of their children’s education this year.
When to shop? Parents typically spend nearly two weeks on average shopping for back-to-school necessities. Even though discounts are available as early as July, just over a third (34%) of parents actually wait to shop during early fall sales. A savvy choice, as discounts are typically quite deep in early September.
Free at last! While some parents find back-to-school shopping stressful and education costs a financial burden, 90% are happy to have class back in session for a variety of reasons. More than a third (36%) of these moms and dads are most looking forward to having extra time for themselves, and 23% are eager to return to a more routine budget.
What’s cool this school year! Retailers know the way to a child’s heart, and by offering character-themed school supplies from some of Hollywood’s biggest box office hits, they are able to create excitement surrounding the return to school. Parents are most likely to predict their little ones will favor Minions-themed school supplies the most (33%), followed by Jurassic World (31%), Sponge Bob (24%) and Star Wars (22%).
Ready for the first bell to ring? Do you know what’s cool for back to school? Take this quiz to find out what’s hot and what’s not! At the end of the quiz, shoppers can browse the RetailMeNot Back-to-School page, featuring top back-to-school deals.
