Survey: Majority of parents will increase back-to-school spending

NEW YORK — According to the Accenture Back-to-School Shopping Survey, two-thirds of parents (67%) plan to spend between $100 and $500 or more for back-to-school shopping this year.



Just more than half (52%) of the parents said they will spend more on back-to-school shopping than last year, while 37% plan to spend the same, and only 11% expect to spend less. One-third (33%) of parents spending more plan to increase their spending by $250 or more.



The survey, which polled U.S. parents of children entering kindergarten through college, shows that nearly all (89%) plan to do most of their back-to-school shopping in a physical store, though many will still use online to browse and search before going to a store to make their purchase.



Among the reasons given for the spending increase, 71% cited higher prices, and 56% cited increased school requirements. Nearly 1-in-5 parents (19%) said they will spend more in order to help their children "keep up with their friends."

 The survey also shows that while parents carry the wallet, their children carry purchasing power: more than half of parents (54%) said their children influence 50% or more of the back-to-school shopping decisions.



"Retailers should start to pay more attention to the purchasing power children have nowadays, if they're not already," said Dave Richards, managing director of Accenture's Global Retail practice. "When making their school shopping decisions, parents are feeling outside pressures and will still be very focused on pricing and promotions. However, children know what they want, and a portion of the increase in spending that we're seeing can certainly stem from them making just as many decisions for back-to-school shopping as their parents do."