Though the summer is still in full swing, families across the nation are already planning back-to-school shopping trips. According to the National Retail Federation's 2007 Consumer Intentions and Actions Back-to-School survey, conducted by BIGresearch, families with school-age children are expected to spend $563.49 on back-to-school merchandise, up 6.9 percent from last year's $527.08 average. Total back-to-school spending this year is expected to reach $18.4 billion.
Though the majority of shoppers will be purchasing clothing and accessories this year (95.4%), spending in that category is expected to be flat, with consumers spending an average of $231.80 on those purchases, similar to last year's $228.14. Clothing and accessories remains the largest spending category at $7.6 billion.
As the Internet continues to integrate itself into traditional shopping, more parents will head online for back-to-school items this year. The percentage of parents who plan to purchase merchandise online this year is expected to rise 40.8 percent, from 15.2 percent last year to 21.4 percent this year. Young parents between the ages of 18-34 are the most likely to shop online for children's merchandise, with nearly one-third of them planning to use the web to find back-to-school items.
Though discounters will remain the most popular destination for back-to-school shopping, fewer consumers plan to hit mass merchants this year, with 67.6 percent of parents planning to shop at discount stores compared with 72.2 percent last year. All other categories are expected to see traffic increase, as consumers will be shopping more at office supplies stores (41.4% vs. 35.8% last year), drug stores (17.9% vs. 16.3%), department stores (54.9% vs. 53.3%) and specialty stores (31.6% vs. 30.9%).
marketing@alchempro.com
