News

Survey: Average US consumer will spend $300 on back-to-school

July 17, 2012

The back-to-school shopping season is already underway with one-third of households reporting that they have begun to shop, according to a special ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer tracking survey. Although the season has officially begun, the majority of expected spending will be done in August, as 65 percent of households reported that is when they will commence back-to-school shopping.

The average household expenditure on all types of back-to-school items will be about $300 this year, which will be an increase over last year for 42 percent of those surveyed. Forty-four percent plan to spend the same amount as last year, while only 14 percent indicated they would spend less. Of the 42 percent of consumers that plan to increase spending, nearly half indicated that it was due to a need to replace wardrobes and school supplies.

"Despite the relatively soft economic conditions over the last quarter, consumers view back-to-school merchandise as essential, which is likely a key reason that so many consumers plan to increase spending this year," said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. "Even more encouraging for retailers is that nearly 20 percent of respondents plan to increase spending by more than 10 percent compared to the 2011 season. Looking ahead, the industry should continue to see increases in sales as the intensity in back-to-school season shopping heats up next month."

The No. 1 item that consumers need for the coming school year is school supplies (88 percent), followed by apparel (79 percent). They plan to buy that merchandise at discount stores (83 percent), office supply stores (46 percent), and traditional department stores (44 percent).

The ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer tracking survey was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation between July 12 and July 15, 2012.