Back-to-school spending in the U.S. will reach $41.5 billion! Survey on spending levels at each education stage

A new survey shows that back-to-school shopping spending in the United States will remain very strong this year, which is a good sign for major retailers.

According to the annual survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, back-to-school spending will reach a record $41.5 billion in 2023, up from $36.9 billion last year and $37.1 billion in 2021. Overall back-to-school spending (including spring and summer) will reach $94 billion in 2023, about $20 billion higher than last year.

Elementary to high school students

On average, families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend $890.07 on back-to-school supplies this year, about $25 more than last year's $864.35, a new high.

The main reason for the budget increase is an increase in consumer demand for electronics. The survey found that 69% of back-to-school shoppers said they would buy electronics or computer accessories this year, up from 65% last year.

The survey report shows that this year's back-to-school season, total spending on electronic products will reach a record $15.2 billion. As in previous years, the top electronic products consumers plan to buy are laptops (51%), tablets (36%) and calculators (29%).

College Students

On average, families with college students expect to spend $1,366.95, up from $1,199.43 last year and up from $1,200.32 in 2021. Back-to-school spending for college students has nearly doubled since 2019.

Spending on big-ticket items like electronics and furniture, as well as necessities like food, accounted for more than half of the increase in total back-to-campus spending by college students this year.

Here are some other findings from the survey:

-For all the back-to-school shoppers, online shopping, department stores and discount stores are the top destinations.

-As of early July, 55% of back-to-school shoppers said they had already started shopping. This is in line with last year, but up from 44% in 2019, and in line with the trend of consumers shopping ahead of major sales events. Although consumers started shopping early, as of early July, 85% of consumers said they still had at least half of their shopping tasks unfinished.

- Of those who are spending more than last year, 43% say it’s because they need more new items, up from 32% last year. Another third (32%) say it’s because they need more big-ticket items, such as computers, cell phones, calculators or dorm furniture.

"While consumers plan to spend more on back-to-school items this year, they are still looking for the best discounts and deals," said Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategy at Prosper. "Consumers are saving money by comparing prices, considering off-brand or store-brand items, and are more likely to shop at discount stores than last year."

NRF has been conducting a comprehensive survey on back-to-school shopping since 2003. This year's survey included 7,843 consumers and was conducted from June 30 to July 6, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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