Back-to-school spending projected to top $27B this year, survey results show

The price tag attached to getting your child ready to head back to school this fall is expected to be a costly one, a recent survey showed.

Total spending for the 2019 back-to-school season is projected to hit $27.8 billion, according to data from a Deloitte survey – the results of which were released in July. And parents with kids in grades K-12 are anticipated to spend an average $519 per child, it said.

Deloitte said the online survey was conducted with 1,200 parents, each of whom has at least one school-aged child heading back to class in the fall.

At $15 billion, clothing and accessories are likely to make up a large portion of the total spending, topping school supplies (which ranked second with $6.1 billion), electronic gadgets and computers and hardware, according to the results.

More money is expected to be spent by shoppers in stores versus online, the survey said. Projected in-store back-to-school spending was listed at $15.7 billion (56 percent), whereas online was listed at $8.1 billion (29 percent). However, the amount spent on online purchases has increased over time, the study said.

“Consumers are set to make more online back-to-school purchases than ever,” Deloitte said. “The sudden increase likely comes from undecided shoppers making up their minds to go online in 2019. Still, brick-and-mortar stores rule the back-to-school retail scene.”

Shoppers who are undecided between the two options account for an expected $4 billion (15 percent), Deloitte said.

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And as far as what matters most to consumers when deciding where to spend their money on back-to-school items, price came out on top with 88 percent, according to the multiple choice results. Product and convenience followed with 81 percent and 80 percent, respectively.