Most families, 84%, plan to spend the same or more on back-to-school shopping this year, compared to 2022, and households appear able to absorb the impact of inflation rather than cutting spending.
Those are prime findings from TransUnion research that also revealed the number of households planning to buy fewer school items dipped big to 10%, compared to 34% last year, according to a press release.
Among those planning to spend the same this year, 62% plan to spend less than $250 per child on back-to-school items, which is roughly the same as households who plan to spend less on back-to-school items this year. About half of families planning to spend more this year are budgeting between $250 and $500 per child, while 14% said they plan to spend more than $500 per child.
"With 60% doing as well or better than planned, families appear to be in a good financial position this year," Cecilia Seiden, vice president of TransUnion's retail business, said in the release. "Increases in back-to-school spending seem to be driven more by changes in what children need for school, rather than inflation."
TransUnion's research found 32% of consumers planned to use Buy Now Pay Later financing this year, with an additional 18% considering its use. Among those using BNPL, nearly half (45%) are doing so to purchase a collection of back-to-school items. More than one-third (36%) plan to use BNPL to purchase an expensive item that their child needs, while 19% said they would use BNPL to purchase expensive items that aren't necessary.
The research was based on an online survey of 1,011 adults conducted in June by TransUnion in partnership with third-party research provider, Dynata.