As Texas students gear up for another school year, a Texas university is giving advice for the upcoming shopping season.
Kelli Hollinger, the director of the Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A & M University’s business school, says that this school year will yield a total of $75.8 billion.
Here are tips from Hollinger on back-to-school shopping this season:
- Peak time for spending begins 3-4 weeks before school starts which nicely overlaps with many tax-free weekends, including Texas (Friday, Aug. 5 – Sunday, Aug. 7.)
- Shoppers can expect heavy promotions from major chains to compete for share of wallet during the back-to-school season, second only to Christmas in terms of total sales volume.
- While overall department store sales have sputtered this year, discount stores like Walmart and Target are preferred destinations for school-aged and college-bound students alike.
- Parents often express anxiety about this spending outlay, back-to-school shopping can also be a good lesson in budgeting, prioritizing wants versus needs, and teaching saving skills for kids. Using store apps to compare deals and basic online searches can help families shop efficiently and find the best deals.
- According to Deloitte’s back-to-school survey, 31 percent of parents are buying fewer traditional school supplies because of increased usage in technology in schools.
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