Parents Plan to Spend Less This Year on School Shopping, Surveys Show

Aug. 5–Parents, especially in the Midwest, plan to spend less this year on back-to-school shopping, two national surveys show.

But some experts question whether great deals — or persuasive teens and ‘tweens — will change their minds.

Midwest households plan to spend $404.68, less than any other region of the country, on clothes, supplies and electronics for the coming school year. That’s down nearly 30 percent from 2004, when Midwesterners spent the most, a National Retail Federation survey found.

Nationally, families with school-aged children plan to spend $443.77, down about 8 percent from a year ago, the survey of 6,487 families found.

Experts were quick to note that these are only projections. Children’s pleas and rock-bottom prices often lure parents to spend more than they expect.

“Consumers usually spend more than they think they’re going to,” said Scott Krugman, a National Retail Federation spokesman. “We think there’s still the potential for there to be a strong year this year as well.”

After two years of spending big on laptops and iPods, many parents say they’re taking a break from buying expensive electronics.

About the same percentage of parents, 44 percent, plan to buy electronics this year, but most expect to spend less — $68.08 versus $101.03 last year — the retail group found.

Ronni Ladato of Kirkwood plans to spend less, but not because she’s watching her budget. She prefers to buy items throughout the year rather than during one big shopping spree.

Her son, John, is heading to high school this year, so he won’t need a strict list of school supplies like when he was in elementary school, she said. She bought him new clothes after a growth spurt a couple of months ago. And in the spring, he received a new iPod and cell phone for his birthday and graduation.

“We’re very lucky to be able to buy things when we need them,” Ladato said.

More than half of parents said they’re trying to get their children to wear what they wore last year, up from about 37 percent last year, an America’s Research Group Inc. survey of 1,000 households found.

Others are cutting back by searching for bargains, and nearly 77 percent plan to shop at discounters, the National Retail Federation found.

“I think aggressive discounting is going to help back-to-school,” said Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group, a consumer research firm in Charleston, S.C. “If retailers do a lot of discounting and states are doing tax-free days, then they’re really going to be doing a great job.”

Missouri’s sales-tax holiday starts today and runs through Sunday. There is no sales tax holiday in Illinois.

Nearly one in four parents told America’s Research Group they plan to shop at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Enna Dancy of St. Louis said she shops at Wal-Mart because price is the most important factor when she’s buying school and day-care supplies for her three children.

The nation’s largest retailer has offered many school supplies, including packages of crayons, colored pencils and markers, for less than $1.

“Wal-Mart is the place,” Dancy said. “It has the lowest prices anywhere.”

Like most retailers, J.C. Penney Co. sees back-to-school as one of its most important times of the year. It started a Web site just for the season, JCPallaccess.com. It’s hip-hop inspired with advice on fashion trends and dance moves.

“We differentiate from other department store retailers, because we have a strong branding campaign,” said Daphne Avila, a spokeswoman for J.C. Penney in Plano, Texas. “It shows that we’re in tune to their tastes and the trends that are going on.”

J.C. Penney earned the No. 2 spot on the America’s Research Group survey with more than one in 10 parents saying they plan to shop there this year.

Sensing shoppers’ appetite for a bargain, other retailers are beginning the season with aggressive discounts to convince parents to buy now rather than later, said Paul Rist, vice president of strategy for BIGresearch, the company that conducted the National Retail Federation study.

One of the best ways parents can save money is to leave the kids at home, Beemer said.

He found fewer than 5 percent of parents plan to let their children make all the buying decisions this year, versus nearly 9 percent last year.

Even if back-to-school spending is more restrained, it’s not a death knell for the Christmas season. In fact, it could motivate shoppers to buy more later in the year, Beemer said.

“Back-to-school has never been a precursor to Christmas,” a common misperception, Beemer said. “A weak back-to-school season can always help Christmas — or even after-Christmas — sales.”

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