News

A few changes coming in back-to-school shopping season

July 19, 2017

Mass merchants will benefit most during this year's back-to-school shopping season, and department stores will likely see a decline in consumer traffic, according to Deloitte's tenth annual back-to-school survey.

​Spending is expected to reach $27 billion, according to a release on the study, which reveals 81 percent of shoppers will be hitting mass merchants, a 24 percent spike over last year, and 28 percent will hit off-price retailers — a 10 percent jump over last year.

Traditional retailers are likely to take a hit as just 28 percent of consumers will be browsing those aisles, a big drop from 54 percent last year, noted the study.

Retailers who get an early jump on the second biggest shopping season of the year will likely reap rewards as 60 percent of consumers shopping prior to August spend more, an average of $532, compared to later in season shoppers which average $458.