-Total Combined Spending for Students to Reach $47.50 Billion
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The rules of back-to-school shopping have officially changed: buy only what you
need, check for coupons and sales before hitting the stores, and, if you can
find the perfect computer at the right price, grab it! According to the National
Retail Federation`s 2009 Back to School Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey,
conducted by BIGresearch, the average family with students in grades
Kindergarten through 12 is expected to spend $548.72 on school merchandise, a
decline of 7.7 percent from $594.24 in 2008. Total spending on back to school is
expected to reach $17.42 billion.*
2009 back-to-college and back-to-school spending combined will total $47.50
billion.
According to the survey, the economy is having a major impact on back-to-school
spending as four out of five Americans (85%) have made some changes to
back-to-school plans this year as a result. Some of those changes impact
spending, with 56.2 percent of back-to-school shoppers hunting for sales more
often, 49.6 percent planning to spend less overall, 41.7 percent purchasing more
store brand/generic products and 40.0 percent are planning to increase their use
of coupons. Others say the economy has impacted lifestyle decisions, with 11.4
percent saying children will cut back on extracurricular activities or sports
and 5.7 percent saying that the economy is impacting whether their children will
attend a private or public school.
"The economy has clearly changed the spending habits of American families, which
will likely create a difficult back-to-school season for retailers," said Tracy
Mullin, President and CEO of NRF. "As people focus primarily on price, strong
promotions and deep discounts will ultimately win over back-to-school shoppers
this year."
Spending in most back-to-school categories is expected to decrease, with one
bright spot: electronics. With personal laptops and desktop computers
increasingly affordable for most families, spending on electronics and computer
equipment is expected to increase 11 percent. According to the survey, the
average family plans to spend $167.84 on those purchases, compared to $151.61
last year. Families will also spend an average of $204.67 on clothing and
accessories, $93.59 on shoes, and $82.62 on school supplies.
While discount stores (74.5%) will be the most popular destination for
back-to-school shoppers, the number of people planning to buy school items at
drug stores is expected to rise substantially. According to the survey, nearly a
quarter (21.5%) of families will shop at drug stores for back-to-school, an 18
percent increase over last year`s 18.2 percent. Drug stores have become more
popular recently as their merchandise mix has broadened beyond health and beauty
products to include school supplies, small electronics, and even groceries. In
addition to discounters and drug stores, more than half of back-to-school
shoppers will head to department stores (54.4%), nearly half (48.4%) will shop
at a clothing store and 41.2 percent will visit office supply stores.
Additionally, 22.2 percent will shop online, 20.8 percent will shop at
electronics stores and 18.2 percent will shop at a thrift store.
"Americans will be looking far and wide for the best back-to-school deals, using
newspaper ads, online promotion codes, and a lot of comparison shopping before
making decisions," said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic
Initiatives, BIGresearch. "This year, many parents hope to begin back-to-school
shopping early to spread the spending out over a longer period of time."
While the first days of school may seem eons away, many Americans have already
started shopping. According to the survey, the majority of Americans (44.4%)
will begin their shopping three weeks to one month before school starts, trying
to take advantage of retailers` early promotions and spend over time. An
additional 31.8 percent will shop one to two weeks before school starts and 2.5
percent will shop after school starts, hoping to take advantage of clearance
sales and postpone purchases as long as possible.
Average College Spending Increases Slightly, Students More Likely to Live at
Home
Even with the uncertainties the economy continues to present, college-bound
students and their families are prepared to shell out a little extra this year.
NRF`s back-to-college survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found that college
students and their parents will spend an average of $618.12 this year, up three
percent over last year`s $599.38. With fewer people planning to attend college
this fall, total college spending is expected to decrease to $30.08 billion*.
While the number of people attending undergraduate schools is not expected to
change significantly, according to the survey, the amount of people who say they
will participate in an advanced degree program is expected to drop this year
(48.1% of respondents last year versus 38.9% this year).
"The economy is forcing young adults to make hard decisions about which schools
to attend, where to live, and what`s really a "necessity" for college," said
Tracy Mullin, President and CEO of NRF. "This year, college students are just as
focused as their parents on finding good deals and making smart choices with
their money."
As with people who have school-aged children, 83 percent of Americans with
students already in or planning to attend college say they the economy is
impacting back-to-college plans**. According to the survey, back-to-college
buyers say the economy will cause them to spend less overall (48.0%), shop for
sales more often (46.1%), and comparative shop with ad circulars/newspapers
(30.8%). The economy will also cause some students to make do with last year`s
school items (33.6%), share or borrow textbooks instead of buying new ones
(17.4%), and will impact students` choice of college (15.0%).
In addition, 12.8 percent of survey respondents say the economy will impact
where a student lives, with many choosing to save money by living at home.
Nearly three out of five (58.5%) college students will be living at home this
year, compared to 54.1 percent last year and 49.1 percent in 2007. As a result,
fewer students will live in a dorm room or college house (15.8% vs. 18.0% in
2008) and in off campus apartments or homes (22.4% vs. 24.3% in 2008).
"Parents want to give their children everything necessary for the best
education, but, this year, living at home may need to be a concession students
need to make," said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives,
BIGresearch. "The trend of students living with their parents will
disproportionately impact home furnishings retailers, as fewer people may be
purchasing kitchen items, home décor and furniture."
Much like back-to-school shoppers, families of college students will heavily
increase their dependence on drug stores this year. According to the survey,
23.4 percent of back-to-college buyers will shop at drug stores, a 38 percent
increase from last year`s 14.3 percent. Back-to-college shoppers will purchase
from discounters (53.4%), college bookstores (44.5%), department stores (43.1%),
and office supply stores (32.5%) most frequently.
As in previous years, families of freshmen will spend the most on
back-to-college purchases ($820.77 on average), largely due to major purchases
of computer and dorm furnishings. Sophomores will spend the second-highest
amount ($496.16), followed by juniors ($470.56), then seniors ($442.00).
College students and their families will spend an average of $118.56 on apparel,
$57.85 on shoes, $34.52 on collegiate gear, $61.05 on school supplies and $80.06
on dorm or apartment furniture. Spending on electronics or computer-related
items is increasing for students ($266.08 on electronics compared to $211.89
last year) as laptops become a requirement for many colleges and universities
across the country.
About the Survey
NRF`s 2009 Back to School and Back to College Consumer Intentions and Actions
Surveys were designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to
back to school spending and back to college spending. The surveys were conducted
for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 8,367 consumers was conducted from June 30 -
July 7, 2009. The consumer polls have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0
percent.
BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer
insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes.
BIGresearch`s syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the
pulse of more than 8,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique
insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association,
with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution
including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent
stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the
industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an
industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24
million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2008 sales of $4.6
trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100
state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.
* Total spending is based on extrapolation of population 18+
** This is the first year the question about how the economy would impact
spending was asked. As a result, comparable numbers are not available.
View complete back-to-school and back-to-college survey results.
National Retail Federation
Kathy Grannis, 202-783-7971
grannisk@nrf.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
