Back-to-school profits on the rise
It’s not even August yet, but marketers are gearing up for back-to-school season right now, and for good reason – U.S. families will spend nearly $690 on average this coming fall for their grade school children, a 14% increase from last year. Total spending is expected to reach $30.3 billion, a 33% increase from 2011.
Despite the current economic climate, parents still need to prepare their children grades K-12 for the upcoming school year. That doesn’t mean they aren’t modifying their spending habits, though. According to a recent NRF survey, consumers are:
- Shopping for sales more often
- Purchasing more generic store-brand items
- Comparing prices across multiple stores via ad circulars and newspapers
- Using more coupons & simply spending less in general
Among the specific industries to see an increase are clothing (11.6%), school supplies (7.2%), electronics (15%) and especially shoes (23.6%).
These trends are just restricted to grade school. College spending is also expected to rise by more than 12% after a two year decline, according to a separate survey by the NRF. Back-to-school and back-to-college spending combined is expected to almost $84 billion, making back-to-school season the second highest for retailers.
Locally, over 200,000 Howard and Baltimore county parents will turn to the annual BSMG Back-to-School guide for insight for on preparing for the upcoming school year. Contact your BSMG sales representative or call 410-332-6300 to reserve your space before Friday, June 27.
Source: MarketingCharts (7/20) | MarketingCharts (7/24)