How inflation is changing back-to-school spending plans

Get your TI-84s ready—not just for back to school, but also to keep track of $$$.

This year, as inflation and prices surge, K-12 spending is predicted to reach a new high—$34.4 billion, or about $661 per student—according to a new report from Deloitte.

• Back-to-college shoppers are expected to spend $28.3 billion, roughly $1,600 per student.
• Although more than half (57%) of shoppers are worried about inflation, the need for back-to-school supplies supersedes those concerns given that per-student spending is up 8% YoY.

“Parents…will sacrifice for their kids, and, given how goofy the last couple of years have been in school, I think they all want to make sure they get off to the correct start,” Rod Sides, Global Deloitte Insights leader, told Retail Brew.

Back to normal-ish: Spending on technology for K-12 is expected to slow down as shoppers plan to decrease their spending 8% YoY on tech products.

• Dollars this year are expected to go to more traditional supplies, as well as apparel and accessories, for K-12 students. One possible reason is that 81% of respondents said schools now provide the tech needed for classroom instruction.
• College tech spending, however, is predicted to grow 22% YoY—which came as a slight surprise to Sides.

“The K-12 parents were able to kind of peel back their spending,” he said. The “college side being up 22% is a little higher than we would have normally seen, but it’s generally a bringing-your-own-device experience.”

What should retailers do? Rather than start the back-to-school shopping season earlier, which was the case last year because of supply-chain constraints, Sides recommended that companies prepare for customers who are on the hunt for discounts.

• 77% of respondents said they will trade brands if prices are too high or if their item is out of stock.

“Consumers are going to be a little more patient because there’s a little more supply,” he said. “[They] probably will have to be a little more intentional on pricing and discounting to be able to drive the sales.”—KM