A variety of school supplies, including lunch boxes and backpacks in different colors and patterns, are exposed for the next school year.
Deb Cohn-Orbach | UCG | Universal Image Group | Getty images
Families do not retain return to school spending this year, despite increasing economic pressure, according to a new survey on PWC consumers.
According to the PWC survey, almost three -quarters of buyers returning to school expect to spend the same or more amount this year than in 2024. In fact, more than 1 in 3 parents plans to spend more than last year.
“This is a large part of the need. They are the people knowing that they will have to get this specific book, or these specific supplies for school where they need technology for their children,” said Kelly Pedersen, US retail leader of PWC.
The results indicate a consumer focused on the value, said Pedersen, but at the same time, the start of the school year is isolated because “it is just necessary to pass each year”.
The results come as consumers struggle with an uncertain economic environment due to the dynamics of global trade. While consumer confidence for May has been stronger than expected, spending for the month has greatly retreated.
Temporary breaks on some of President Donald Trump’s prices were considered a positive indicator for consumers, although the long -term way of prices for prices is not clear, especially since some retailers have said they would increase prices.
Among the back to school shopping destinations, Walmart And Target said they planned to raise certain prices, while Best purchase is among the retailers who said that he had already increased certain prices.
“A large part of the average consumers in the United States feel this cloud suspended above, when the prices are hitting, and that will do at prices,” said Pedersen.
He said the value will be important in the future because he has seen consumers move to more retailers at a reduced price in the past two months.
Indeed, the purchase of items only on the delivery and reuse of articles from previous years is among the main ways that consumers plan to save during the rear school season, according to the survey.
For those who reduce school return to school, technology and clothes are the two main categories where they plan to back down, according to PWC, while essential elements such as books and school supplies are more isolated.
On return to school technology, 25% of parents plan to spend more than $ 500, while 42% expect to pay less than $ 50.
Although the number of rear spending at school has remained relatively constant overall, parents change the way they buy.
Artificial intelligence in particular has an impact on how parents manage the rear school season. According to the survey, one of the buyers out of 5 plans to use AI tools to find online offers.
Regarding physical retail trade, Gen Z opens the way. Parents of generation Z interviewed were more likely than millennials or parents of generation X to shop exclusively in stores, which suggests that the young generation could contribute to the resilience of brick and mortar, said PWC.