JLL’s annual Back-to-School Shopping survey has upbeat news for retailers as back-to-school spending is set to surge almost 22% in 2024, with physical stores remaining the top choice for shoppers.
This spike suggests optimistic prospects for retail sales and a promising shopping season ahead. Additionally, the survey finds, parents are planning to shop earlier than in previous years.
The survey suggests parents across all income brackets — but particularly those with higher incomes — are planning to allocate a larger portion of their budgets towards discretionary products rather than focusing solely on school essentials.
“For the second consecutive year, parents are increasing their per-child spending from $390 to $475, despite concerns about inflation,” said Keisha Virtue, Senior Analyst of Retail Research at JLL. “Our survey demonstrates that parents are prioritizing back-to-school essentials and will continue to play a crucial part in driving consumer spending and foot traffic.”
In terms of deciding where to shop for back-to-school items, Walmart, Amazon, and Target remain the preferred choices for parents. Other leading retailers include Costco, Old Navy, and Dollar General.
JLL highlighted that nearly 90% of parents will engage with physical stores in some capacity for their back-to-school shopping, underscoring the enduring significance of brick-and-mortar outlets. Notably, parents anticipate allocating more than 63% of their shopping budgets to in-store purchases vs. online transactions, a trend especially prevalent among affluent shoppers.