From crayons to calculators, families are set to spend more than ever before on back-to-school shopping. The National Retail Federation expects sales to hit a record of $41.5 billion.
“The thing about back to school is you only do it once a year,” said Mark Bergen, the James D. Watkins Chair in Marketing at the Carlson School of Management. “So given that you do it once a year, you’re only going to remember last year. So, it’s likely that the sizes have changes, it’s likely that the prices have changed.”
Bergen says inflation has tapered off this year.
“A lot of what I’m seeing is there is a little more positivity among consumers. Less fear of a recession. Feeling that the inflationary pressures are down,” he said. “All of that means we’re more likely to be open to spending more.”
To help keep costs down, Bergen suggests trying different products, like generic or store brand. It’s a good idea to keep that comparison mindset between stores, too.
“This year, I’ve actually been ahead of the game a bit,” said mom of three Heather Ladd.
Avoiding one-stop shopping and taking advantage of sales are habits that have helped Ladd over the years.
“Track prices across Target, Amazon, other stores, and hit some of the deals,” she said. “Being able to comparison shop online has been a huge advantage.”
Bergen warns shoppers to keep “shrinkflation” in mind.
“The same thing you used to buy a year ago or the year before might have four pens instead of six, or eight pencils instead of 16,” Bergen said. “So be careful to check not just the price but the size and amount of the items. That’s one of the ways companies grappled with inflation is they simply downsized the size of the product.”
Lastly, take your time. Bergen says this is especially true for big-ticket items, like cellphones and computers.
“The categories where you spend more money are probably the place you want to put more time and attention,” Bergen said. “If you’re gonna update the computer and get flash drives and other things, and that’s the biggest part of your back-to-school [shopping], it’s alright to spend a little more shopping time there and a little less on the pens and paper.”
If you’re struggling to make ends meet, Greater Twin Cities United Way fills backpacks with school supplies to give out to students in need at the start of each school year. This year the nonprofit packed more than 40,000 backpacks full of supplies for local students.
United Way leaders say the demand for these supplies went up 15% to 20% this year.
“Part of it is just getting the kids emotionally ready and confident to start school and have the things they need to be successful, and the rest of it is they really do need this stuff,” said Great Twin Cities United Way’s President and CEO John Wilgers. “So if we want them to have the best chance of success when they get back to school, sending them back with the school supplies they need is really important.”
Wilgers said those backpacks have already been dispersed. Reach out to your local school district for resources or reach out to one of United Way’s nonprofit partners.
