by Doug Desjardins
While back-to-school spending on kids' items is expected to increase more than 10 percent this year, parents and students will be keeping tighter purse strings on back-to-college spending.
According to the National Retail Federation, (NRF), the average family will spend $618.12 this year on back-to-college spending compared to $616.13 in 2009, an increase of less than one percent. While spending will increase in most categories, including apparel and furnishings, those increases will be offset by a decline in spending on consumer electronics. The NRF survey projects the average family will spend $236.94 on electronics, compared to $266.08 in 2009 when spending in the category hit an all-time high.
“This year, parents will make sure to shop smart, stocking up on necessities like gift cards, apparel and personal care items for their everyday needs,” said NRF president and CEO Matt Shay.
Digging deeper into the numbers, the NRF survey shows college freshman – typically the biggest revenue generators in the college category – plan to spend 19 percent less than last year. “College freshmen have always been the biggest cash cow for retailers when it comes to the back-to-college season,” said NRF spokesperson Ellen Davis, who described the projected decline as an "eyebrow-raiser” for analysts who didn’t expect it.
The emphasis on necessities will drive shoppers to retail chains that offer bargains. The NRF survey shows that 53.8 percent of consumers plan to do at least some of their back-to-college shopping at discount stores, followed by department stores (42.5 percent), office supply stores (36.5 percent) and online sites (28.6 percent).
When asked how the state of the economy would affect their buying habits this year, 34 percent of respondents said they would buy more generic and store brands that are less expensive than name brands, up from 32.5 percent last year.
Online retailers are coming up with some novel promotions for the back-to-college season. Buy.com in July launched a promotion called the Virtual Doom Room store, which features a 360-degree view of a typical dorm room along with recommendations for products like desks, refrigerators and other common items new students need in dorms.
“The Virtual Doom Room gives parents, students and gift-givers and easy-to-use, intuitive shopping resource to make life a little bit easier during the busy back-to-school shopping season,” said Buy.com president and CEO Neel Grover.
JC Penney is taking the same approach with its online Dorm Room Registry. It works like a bridal registry and allows students to create a wish list for back-to-college needs that family and friends can check out. JC Penney is also offering free shipping on online orders to local stores to help students save on shipping costs.
Target is taking a more pro-active approach by staging after-hours sales events in stores for college students. The promotion involves 48 college campuses and provides free bus transportation to and from the campuses to stores.
Resources
Back to School sales Up as Parents Replenish Children’s Needs
Buy.com Makes Back-to-School Shopping Easy with New Virtual Dorm Room Store
COUPON TIME
Got a college student in your family? Send them to our Back-to-School Sale page and our ongoing Student Discount page!
