If you’re a student still enjoying your break, look away — the sun is setting on summer vacations, with the coming weeks set to be busy with nationwide back to school preparations.
Action stationery
While some students may be dreading the start of school, parents may be feeling a similar way at the prospect of stockpiling supplies. This year, US consumers are set to splurge more than ever on school supplies, with a typical household looking to spend $890 in 2023 — a 3% increase from 2022, but up a huge 28% from the amount spent in 2019 — according to data from the NRF. Clothing and shoes are often the biggest contributors to overall spending, which is predicted to reach $41 billion this year, more than double the total spent in 2007.
Indeed, despite college students typically being broke, the NRF have predicted that even more will be spent this year on provisions for higher education, averaging $1,367 per household. For both college-goers and high-schoolers, the rise in expenditure may be attributed to the evolution of what is considered “essential” supplies for learning. In simple terms, pen and paper have given way to expensive electronics, with more than a third of those surveyed attributing their increased spending to ‘big-ticket’ items, such as computers and tablets.
Dog days are over
Interestingly, some students may have a few more precious vacation days left. Data from 2019 showed that, while nearly half (48%) of all US students returned to school between August 12th-23rd, there were a good portion of pupils (23%) who went back after Labor Day.
