Anika Begay
Customer purchasing school supplies as employee restocks shelves, Target store, Queens, New York.
Lindsey Nicholson | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Just when it seemed like more Americans were being inspired by the concepts of “underconsumptioncore” and “conscious consumerism,” which aim to curb social media-related overspending, back-to-school shopping season has begun, earlier than ever.
According to the National Retail Federation, by early July, more than half (55%) of students and families had already begun purchasing school supplies for the start of the academic year.
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“The back-to-school shopping season is starting earlier and earlier each year,” largely due to retail strategies, said Cassandra Happe, an analyst at WalletHub.
Sales events like Target Circle Week and Amazon’s Prime Day have started even earlier in 2024, “with the goal of capturing early-bird shoppers and outpacing the competition,” Happe said.
Back-to-school spending could reach nearly $40 billion
According to the NRF, families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $874.68 on school supplies, just $15 less than last year’s record high of $890.07.
Overall, this year’s back-to-school spending, including college students, is expected to reach $38.8 billion, the NRF also found. That’s the second-highest tally ever, behind last year’s $41.5 billion, which marked the most expensive back-to-school season to date.
According to another report from Intuit Credit Karma, nearly a third (31%) of parents said they will not be able to afford back-to-school spending this year, and 34% expect to have to take on debt to cover the cost of supplies.
Higher prices are partly to blame: Families are now paying more for back-to-school essentials like backpacks ahead of the new school year. Vscek used the Producer Price Index, a closely watched measure of inflation, to track how the production costs of certain items typically purchased by students changed between 2019 and 2024.
The upside is that, as another Deloitte survey found, starting early can offer the best chance of finding the best deals, at a time when household finances are particularly tight.
“However, this approach can also lead to increased spending due to rising costs and the temptation to make impulse purchases,” Happe said. “Parents may find themselves spending more overall, especially on big-ticket items and electronics.”
According to another report from WalletHub, over 75% of parents believe that schools are asking them to buy too many products during the back-to-school season.
Must-Have Items for Back to School Season
“Back-to-school shopping started trending on TikTok earlier than I’d ever seen,” said Casey Lewis, a social media trends expert and founder of the trends newsletter After School.
“As soon as the Fourth of July holiday weekend was over, I started seeing them, and not just shopping, but outfit ideas and calls for advice on the best shoes and backpacks to buy this year,” Lewis said.
Despite tight budget constraints, 85% of parents said they could be persuaded to spend a fortune on a “must-have” item or brand, Deloitte found.
According to Lewis, at the top of this year’s wish list are low-rise jeans, $110 Adidas Campus sneakers, and North Face Jester backpacks, which retail for $75 or more.
“There’s a lot of pressure to look right,” Lewis said. And as trends move faster and faster, “young people have even more pressure to keep up,” he added. “It seems like their popularity and their perception of cool is dependent on the products they have.”
How to Keep Back to School Expenses in Check
Consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch advises families to shop for used clothing, sporting goods, school supplies and certified refurbished electronics on resale sites, use a browser extension or price-tracking app and apply coupon codes. There are a growing number of online retailers offering overstocks of children’s products, open-box items and returns, often at significant discounts.
Also take advantage of sales tax holidays when you can, she said. Check the 2024 sales tax holiday list to see if and when your state will be waiving sales taxes for a few days.
Otherwise, go shopping for yourself, which is what TikTok’s #underconsumptioncore is all about. “Rip out pages from a partially used notebook, gather up stray markers and crayons to make a full set, and clean out last year’s backpack and lunchbox,” Woroch said.
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