Parents are struggling amid skyrocketing inflation and the return to school, which combined with other consumer items, has further strained their pockets.
Unlike previous years, American consumers have paid more attention to prices, offers and are buying more generic items. In addition, they are using ingenuity to reuse items from past school years.
Students going back to school at different educational levels have different needs to meet: from books, supplies, clothes, new shoes, a computer or other electronic devices to furniture and items to equip the college dorm.
A Deloitte service network back-to-school survey of 1,200 US parents said that Average back-to-school spending per student is expected to increase 8% from 2021 to approximately $661 per child, when spending before the pandemic was $519.
Another estimate, taken from the National Retail Federation and market data company Prosper Insights & Analytics, says that households will spend an average of $864 dollars for the current school yearwhich is almost 2% more than the $849 dollars spent in 2021.
In general terms, the National Retail Federation expects that back-to-school spending for schools remains flat at $36.9 billionwith a fall of 0.5%, while spending for universities increases 4% to $73.9 billion.
Combined spending would also experience changes. This could reach $110.7 billion dollars, 2% more than last year’s record of $108.1 billion dollarsKatherine Cullen, senior director of industry and consumer insights for the National Retail Federation, told USA Today.
Parents are keeping an eye out for inflation levels in the country, –which in July stood at 8.5% year-on-year after reaching 9.1% in the previous month–, triggering the prices of school supplies. They estimate spending 40.6% more than in 2019 for back to school and 35.5% more for back to college.
Retail analytics firm Datawave says that back-to-school items were priced on average 15% higher than in 2021. Among the articles that increased the most, backpacks stand out, with a 12% increase; notebooks and folders, with 31%; and lunch boxes, with 14%. These other items also showed considerable increases.
Tips like shopping online, using coupons, or buying used items can add up to significant savings for consumers. There are also some applications from the cell phone that can bring greater benefits.
It may interest you:
– 5 applications with which you can save money for this return to school
– Discount coupons and extra shifts: this is how families in the US prepare for the cost of going back to school
– Target announces back-to-school discounts and offers special discounts for students and teachers
Source: La Opinion
