Back-to-school spending to drop 7.7%

Families say they'll spend less than they did last year to get kids ready for the fall, relying heavily on sales and coupons.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

Brand name companies go bankrupt
As consumers cut back, businesses are scrambling. 14 brands you know -- from an NHL hockey team to Obama's suit maker -- that are hitting the skids.
What's most important to you when choosing where to live?
  • Good jobs
  • Affordable homes
  • Top schools
  • Low crime
  • Things to do

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Back-to-school spending is set to slip 7.7% this year, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Thanks to pay cuts and job losses, cash-strapped consumers are planning to spend less on everything from pens and paper to fall clothing.

The average family with students in grades kindergarten through high school is expected to spend $548.72 on school supplies, down from $594.24 in 2008, according to the National Retail Federation.

"There's not a lot to be excited about," said George Whalin, president of Retail Management Consultants. "It's going to be very challenging for retail, for a long time."

Four out of five respondents said they have changed their back-to-school shopping strategy as a result of the ailing economy, and plan to search out more promotions and deep discounts this shopping season. According to the report, 56.2% said they are looking for sales more often, while 49.6% planned to spend less overall. About two in five said they would purchase more store-brand products and use more coupons.

In their search for bargains, consumers are getting more creative about where they intend to shop. More than 21% said they will make their school purchases at drug stores, and over 18% will go to thrift stores for back-to-school clothing.

Despite the bleak data overall, it appears that discounts will boost the electronics sector. Spending on items like computers, is expected to increase 11% to $167.84 per family.

'Don't wait too long' for sales

Almost half of respondents -- 44% -- said they will start shopping about a month before school starts, in an attempt to find early discounts and to spread their spending out over time.

Nearly one-third (31.8%) will shop 1-2 weeks before school begins, and 2.5% will wait until after the start of the year, hoping to find clearance sales and postpone spending.

But consumers should take care not to wait too long, Whalin warned, since the long-suffering retail sector has sharply cut back on inventory.

"Retail has been dealt a big blow, but they've gotten good at this," Whalin said. "They're prepared for down months, so we don't see the piles of supply that we saw a few years ago. Consumers need to get in and buy before it's gone."

Whalin noted that although some experts speculate that the current economic downturn has triggered a permanent change in consumer spending behavior, he disagrees.

"At some point, when the job situation improves, people will spend again," he said. "But the numbers don't look good, and consumer morale is low."

He added, "I spend a lot of time in stores, monitoring behavior, and foot traffic is dismal. There's just no one out there." To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.