Consumers plan to spend 21.8% more on back to school shopping this year, compared to 2023.
The projection, according to an annual JLL survey, signals positive implications for retailers, according to a press release on the findings.
The online survey by JLL Retail Research polled more than 1,000 parents of school-age children.
Parents earning over $50,000 a year don't plan to cut back while parents across all income groups intend to allocate a larger share of their budgets to discretionary products rather than school-mandated items.
"For the second consecutive year, parents are increasing their per-child spending from $390 to $475, despite concerns about inflation," Keisha Virtue, senior analyst of Retail Research at JLL, said in the release. "Our survey demonstrates that parents are prioritizing back-to-school essentials and will continue to play a crucial part in driving consumer spending and foot traffic."
Parents also plan to start back-to-school shopping significantly earlier and more than 75% of parents expect to have already begun shopping by July. About 25% of parents reported they have already started back-to-school shopping.
When it comes to choosing where to shop, Walmart, Amazon and Target remain top choices for parents.