Deloitte: Back-to-School Shoppers Ready to Spend

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Nearly 9 in 10 (88 percent) consumers surveyed plan to spend the same or more on back-to-school shopping this year, with higher prices a contributing factor for some families. Among those who plan to spend more this year (34 percent), nearly 6 in 10 (58 percent) cite higher prices as their reason for doing so and more than one-third (34 percent) say their children need more expensive items than last year.

According to Deloitte’s annual “Back-to-School” survey, television ranks as the No.1 source for parents to hear about the items they intend to purchase, cited by 41 percent of respondents, followed by family members (37 percent), newspapers (37 percent) and friends (36 percent).  Among factors influencing children’s purchases, 59 percent of parents claim friends to be the top source of information, followed by television (41 percent).

The survey shows that smartphones and online channels will guide bargain-hungry shoppers again this year. More than 4 in 10 (43 percent) smartphone owners indicate they use their devices at least half the time for back-to-school shopping. Price-checking tops shoppers’ lists, cited by 62 percent of smartphone owners who will use their devices for back-to-school shopping. Nearly half (45 percent) of those smartphone shoppers will download discounts, coupons and sale information.

Alison Paul, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and retail & distribution sector leader comments:

“Retailers will likely have to give consumers a good reason to fill the baskets in their stores, such as promotions that incentivize volume purchases or return trips. Retailers may need to quickly analyze their customer data and traffic to identify, replenish and market the popular items that can keep the momentum up throughout the season.”