PriceGrabber notes shoppers' BTS budgets, planned purchases

LOS ANGELES — Nearly two-thirds of consumers plan to spend up to $500 this back-to-school shopping season, PriceGrabber said Wednesday.

PriceGrabber released additional results from its back-to-school shopping study — which was released last month — noting that 63% of consumers surveyed (that plan to shop this back-to-school season) said they plan to spend up to $500 this back-to-school shopping season (compared to 48% in 2011), while 20% of respondents said plan to spend between $500 and $1,000, and 17% of shoppers said they don't have a back-to-school shopping budget this year.

When asked what items they intend to buy this back-to-school season, respondents cited classic school supplies and back-to-school clothing 83% and 79%, respectively), as well as backpacks/tote bags (51%) and books (50%). Tech product purchases also are on the rise with 40% of shoppers planning to purchase a tech item this back-to-school season, such as a laptop, tablet, a smartphone or desktop computer.

When PriceGrabber survey respondents were asked to select the method in which they plan to purchase back-to-school items this year, 79% indicated they plan to shop online, compared with 69% in 2011.

"We suspect that given the large of amount of back-to-school shoppers who said they will shop online, many are planning to do so in order to comparison shop, set price alerts, find coupons, and take advantage of last-minute discounts, free shipping and price drops," PriceGrabber general manager Graham Jones said. "It seems that consumers are becoming more open to exploring creative options for saving money, so it's no surprise to us that they are flocking to the Internet to utilize its ability to save shoppers time and money."