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yesterday

U.S. Families Reach Record Back-to-School Budgets as Shopping Season Starts Earlier

New tariffs on Chinese-made supplies this month are intensifying inflation pressures for parents reallocating budgets toward essentials.

Parents are expecting to spend nearly $700 per child when buying supplies ahead of the coming school year. (Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS)
Ten Fun Facts About Back-to-School Shopping

Overview

  • Families plan to spend an average of $628 per child and $1,230 per household on back-to-school items, the highest totals in four years.
  • Sixty-seven percent of parents began shopping by early July, marking the strongest early-season purchase rate since 2018.
  • Inflation has cooled to 2.4% but prices remain about 24% above pre-pandemic levels, and incoming tariffs are adding to cost concerns.
  • Parents are cutting clothing budgets to increase spending on school supplies and technology while total tech outlays hold steady year over year.
  • Shoppers are leveraging summer sales events, buy-now-pay-later plans, secondhand markets and AI deal-finding tools to stretch tight back-to-school budgets.