Back-to-School Shopping Hits the Skids

Spending on school supplies has hit the chopping block.

The average family with students in grades kindergarten through 12 is expected to spend $548.72 on school merchandise, a decline of 7.7% from $594.24 in 2008.

Total spending on back to school is expected to reach $17.42 billion, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by BIGresearch.

When combined with back-to-college spending the total rises to $47.5 billion.

The tanking economy is to blame, with four out of five Americans (85%) having made some changes to back-to-school plans this year as a result, the survey found.

Some 56.2% of respondents are searching for sales on a more frequent basis, 49.6% plan to spend less overall, 41.7% are purchasing more store brand/generic products and 40% are planning to increase their use of coupons.

The economy is also affecting children in other ways with 11.4% of respondents indicating that children will cut back on extracurricular activities or sports and 5.7% say that the economy is impacting decisions to send children to a private or public school.

“The economy has clearly changed the spending habits of American families, which will likely create a difficult back-to-school season for retailers,” said NRF CEO Tracy Mullin, in a release. “As people focus primarily on price, strong promotions and deep discounts will ultimately win over back-to-school shoppers this year.”

Not surprisingly, the one bright spot for spending will be electronics, including personal laptops and desktop computers as those items become increasingly affordable. Spending on these items is expected to increase 11%, with the average family spending $167.84 on those purchases, compared to $151.61 last year. Families will also spend an average of $204.67 on clothing and accessories, $93.59 on shoes, and $82.62 on school supplies.

Discount stores will be the most popular shopping destination, followed by department, clothing, office supply and drug stores. Just over 22% will shop online.

As for college students, parents will spend an average of $618.12 this year, up 3% over last year’s $599.38.

College students and their families will spend an average of $118.56 on apparel, $57.85 on shoes, $34.52 on collegiate gear, $61.05 on school supplies and $80.06 on dorm or apartment furniture. Spending on electronics or computer-related items is increasing for students ($266.08 on electronics compared to $211.89 last year) as laptops become a requirement for many colleges and universities across the country.