Inflation has parents bracing for higher back-to-school spending: report

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Nearly half the adults in the U.S. will be making back-to-school purchases this year, and they are preparing for a more significant bill due to inflation, according to fresh data.

ICSC's Back-to-School 2023 Consumer Survey released Thursday found that parents are bracing themselves for higher prices, with 75% of respondents saying they plan on shelling out more for everything from school supplies to new clothes compared to last year.

Some 60% surveyed said they plan to increase their spending because of higher prices and inflation, up from 43% who said the same last year.

A cashier scans school supplies for a customer at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. location in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015. U.S. parents are overwhelmingly planning to increase back-to-school spending and shop at disc (Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Parents plan on spending an average of $969 on back-to-school items this year, up from $911 in the 2022 season. They expect to spend the most on electronics, at $260, but school supplies saw the largest increase from recent years at $168, an 18% jump from last year.

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ICSC's latest survey found parents expect to spend an average of $233 on apparel, another $205 on furniture and $102 on sporting goods.

Nine out of 10 respondents told ICSC inflation and rising prices will influence their purchases this year, and seven out of 10 said they planned to shop at discount stores – up 5% from last year.

School-age children shop for back-to-school supplies with their mother, right, before