Do not expect back-to-school expenses to help retailers

If retailers were hoping that the back-to-school shopping season would encourage consumers to spend more, they would be disappointed.

A new Deloitte survey suggests spending in the second busiest shopping season of the year will be about the same as the previous year. Consumers buying clothing, school supplies and electronics for K-12 children are expected to spend $ 27.8 billion this year, up just 1.8% from 2018, according to the report. 'investigation.

Households will average $ 519 per student and spend 54% of their budget on clothing and accessories, generating $ 15 billion in sales, according to the survey, which surveyed 1,200 parents with at least one child enrolled this fall.

For students returning to college, parents will spend $ 25.1 billion, or $ 1,362 per student, up 2.4% from last year, according to a separate poll of 1,025 parents of college students.

"In general, consumers are pretty satisfied with where they are, they do not feel the need to spend more or less," said Rod Sides, vice president of retail sales and distribution at Deloitte. "If you look at the category themselves, they've also been pretty flat."

In recent years, parents have spent more money on technology, but this year, spending in this category will be more about gadgets than computers. Expect to see more students from kindergarten to grade 12 introduce new cell phones and e-readers, as consumers spend $ 800 million more on electronic gadgets than last year, for a total of $ 3.6 billion, an increase of 29%. The computer and hardware category is down 16% to $ 3.1 billion.

"We are seeing an evolution of computers towards cloud technologies and mobile technologies.The impact of the cloud on primary education is surprising," Sides said. "They use technologies to store all their work in the cloud, which allows them to do most of their work at home, which has changed the dynamics of what they really need."

Stores such as Target and Walmart can look forward to a ramp-up, as 88% of K-12 students' parents plan to go to high street stores. who offer a one-stop shop for their back-to-school needs.

Retailers can expect to start expanding backpacks and notebooks soon: 62% of purchases will be made in late July and early August.