After a year of being cooped up indoors, both children and parents alike seem to be feeling the school spirit, with back-to-school retail sales reaching record levels.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world's largest retail trade organization, total back-to-school spending for 2021 is expected to reach a record-breaking high of $37.1 billion, compared to last year's $33.9 billion.
"The pandemic forced parents and their school-aged children to quickly adapt to virtual learning, and they did it with an incredible amount of resolve and flexibility," President and CEO of the NRF Matthew Shay said in a statement. "We enter the new school year with plans to return to the classroom and retailers are prepared to help Americans find and purchase whatever they need to make this transition as seamless as possible."
According to the NRF, while more than half of all K-12 students had already begun their school shopping by July, more than three-quarters haven't yet received their school supplies list. This means that there is likely a vast amount of back-to-school shopping yet to be seen.
While Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), and Target (NYSE: TGT) all held massive summer sales events, roughly half of the parents waiting to finish buying supplies say that they're waiting for the best deals. Over 40% said they would be using their stimulus money to pay for at least part of their back-to-school purchases. Another possible boost to parents' school supplies budget is the expanded child tax credit that recently started hitting U.S. bank accounts.
The NRF reports that parents of the average child in high school or below will spend nearly $850 on school supplies and clothes, an increase of nearly $60 over 2020. So far, clothes and electronics have seen the largest increases in spending compared to last year when desks and headphones dominated the back-to-school market.
"Consumers are spending more on items like electronics and clothing as they make plans for students to resume activities in person this fall," Prosper Insights Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist told the NRF. "For those in particular with children in elementary to high school, shoppers are putting the largest portion of their budgets toward electronics, new clothes and accessories."
Amongst those big-ticket items are electronics that parents have delayed buying due to the pandemic and school closures.
"Maybe a purchase that the family held off on last year as kids were at home, but now they want their child to be able to...make contact throughout the day," NRF's Katherine Cullen is quoted by NPR.
Another change from last year is a return to in-store shopping. While online shopping remains a popular option, more families are choosing to visit stores in person now that they feel the coronavirus is less of a threat.