Inflation Concerns Don’t Dampen Back-to-School Budgets

It’s that time again. Teachers prepare the curriculum and classrooms, while families outfit and buy supplies for their kids. Back-to-school tends to bring up questions about retail shopping. And according to JLL’s Back-to-School-Shopping Survey, almost half of respondents indicated they started shopping efforts before June. Another interesting metric is that inflationary fears don’t seem to be daunting parents; in fact, they plan to spend 17.3% more than they did for the 2024 – 2025 school year.

However, just because parents’ spending is increasing doesn’t mean money will just be thrown around. Respondents agreed that inflation will impact shopping, with one-third of respondents indicating they would just adjust their back-to-school shopping plans due to higher prices.

Additionally, back-to-school shopping behavior varies between income groups. Lower-income households are more likely to spend 22.5% less than the average, start shopping in July or August, and increased discretionary spending. Meanwhile, higher-income households are likely to spend more than average, purchase private labels to save money, cut back on discretionary spending and shop before June.

Other insights the survey revealed included:

More on-site shopping. Though product delivery is still popular, fewer parents are relying on this method of shopping than in previous years. As a result, mall and open-air center popularity is growing. Additionally, buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) and curbside pickup have also decreased in popularity from the year before.

Mass merchandisers feel the love. The survey reported that mass merchandisers like Walmart and Target increased in popularity by almost 10 percentage points this year; parents are doing everything they can to stretch dollars. Specifically, 11.3% of parents plan to shop at these mass merchandisers exclusively.

JLL analysts suggested that the best way retail landlords can take advantage of this year’s back-to-school shopping activities include:

• Offering sales and promotions to encourage shoppers to enter stores

• Promoting less-expensive store brands or stocking fewer premium products

Furthermore, while BOPIS has declined in popularity, it’s still a good idea to offer easy pickup options and to place back-to-school items close to a pick-up location.