Back-to-School Spending
The back-to-school shopping season is one of the biggest events in the US retail industry calendar, falling second only to Christmas in terms of annual sales for many major retail chains.
With that time of year upon us again, it comes as no surprise to MeetTheBoss.tv that analysts are once more keen to understand how consumers are spending.
Interestingly, for this year, at least according to web measurement service Compete, consumers are expected to turn to the web in the droves to snap-up back-to-school essentials; whilst BIGresearch, which annually conducts the Back-to-School Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey for the National Retail Federation, also notes a significant shift toward online shopping trends.
In fact, the annual results from the Back-to-School Surveys for 2006 – 2010 not only track the shifts in spending at online, clothing, electrics, discount and department stores, but also reveals shifts in spending patterns for college students versus primary and secondary school-age children.
And results for the 2010 Survey, which were released earlier this year, suggest that consumers intend to be spending less on clothing and more on shoes and dorm furnishings for college-age students.
Meanwhile, statistics at Compete reveal that, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is online sales of school supplies that lead the way, with 84 percent of shoppers planning to go online for things like books, notebooks, pens, paper and other associated paraphernalia.
Perhaps most interestingly, however, is the often-overlooked impact the trends in Back-to-School spending could have for the wider economy. Compete analyst Debra Miller explains, “an increase in back-to-school shopping portends well for the upcoming holiday season.” She added that “12 percent of those surveyed plan to spend more than last year. And hopefully, by the time the sweaters come out of the closet, this number will be even bigger.”
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