US back-to-school spending to remain muted in 2024, Deloitte says

Foot Locker

15/07/2024 05:01

By Anuja Bharat Mistry and Ananya Mariam Rajesh
       July 15 (Reuters) - Back-to-school spending this year is
expected to be flat or lower in the United States, as shoppers
dial down on expensive electronics such as laptops and personal
computers, Deloitte said.
    Shoppers are likely to spend $31.30 billion, or about $586
per student, in kindergarten to 12th grade, Deloitte said,
citing its shopper surveys. That compares to $31.90 billion, or
$597 per head, for 2023, it said.
    
    WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
    Parents typically look for large discounts on sneakers,
computers, clothing and backpacks ahead of the new school year.
Walmart  WMT.N , Target  TGT.N  and China-founded Shein
commenced back-to-school deals in the first week of July,
earlier than usual, to get a jump on Amazon  AMZN.O , which will
hold a two-day Prime Day event on July 16 and 17.
    
    KEY QUOTE
    Middle-income families are focusing more on value and
willing to shop for private label, said Stephen Rogers, managing
director, Deloitte Insights Consumer Industry Center.
    "As the summer sales events have become almost the
unofficial start of back to school shopping, retailers need to
have those promotional offers ... queued up right, ready to go,"
 Rogers said. 
    Retailers and consumer products companies can expect to see
a continued volume pressure right in the back-to-school quarter,
he added.
    
    BY THE NUMBERS
    About 67% of parents surveyed may sacrifice loyalty if the
preferred brand is too expensive, Deloitte said. The survey
polled a sample of 1,198 American parents of school-aged
children.
    Shoppers are likely to spend $12.60 billion on clothing and
school supplies, roughly on a par with what they spent in 2023,
and $8.6 billion on technology products, down 11% from a year
earlier.
    Middle-income families making between $50,000 and $99,000 in
a year are expected to cut their spending by 9%, while
low-income families making less than $50,000 could slash their
spending by 4% in 2024. 
    Meanwhile, higher-income families whose annual incomes
exceed $100,000 are expected to see a 5% rise in average
spending to $721 per child, compared with $689 a year ago,
Deloitte noted in the report.
    
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Expected category spend during back-to-school season 2024    https://reut.rs/4cUO7Es
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 (Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
 ((AnujaBharat.Mistry@thomsonreuters.com;))