Executive Summary
The July 2024 Prosper Insights and Analytics survey (n = 7,533) highlights the scale and dynamics of back-to-school and college shopping, underscoring its role as one of the largest retail events of the year. Key findings include:
40.1% of adults plan to shop for back-to-school or college; 28.2% for school-age children, 25.9% for college, and 14.1% for both.
As of early July, 45.3% had not started shopping; among those who had, only 19.2% of shopping was complete on average.
Back-to-school spending averages $858.07 per family, totaling $39.4 billion nationwide.
Back-to-college spending averages $1,325.85 per household, totaling $88.8 billion nationwide.
Electronics and computers are the largest back-to-school category at $442 per family, purchased by 67% of families; clothing, shoes, and supplies remain widespread purchases.
Online is the leading purchase location (54.8% for school, 47.6% for college), followed by department and discount stores.
Nearly 70% of shoppers report higher prices this year, particularly in clothing (74.4%), school supplies (69.6%), shoes (65.6%), and electronics (69.4%).
About two-thirds of shoppers are open to buying gently used items, especially clothing and electronics, citing cost savings and sustainability.
27% of students wear uniforms and 18.4% are homeschooled; combined, 42.3% of children are not attending public schools.
Back-to-School and College Spending Rivals Holiday Season Spending
By Dr. Martin Block, Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University, Retail Analytics Council
Back-to-school and college is a major retail event. In the July 2024 Prosper Insights and Analytics survey (n=7,533), adults were asked, “Do you plan to shop for back-to-school/college this year?” Back-to-school and college retail spending is a multi-month event beginning for some consumers as early as late June and running through September. As of early July 45.3%, say they have not started yet. Of those that started shopping in July, the average estimate of the percent completed is 19.2%
Overall, 40.1% reported planning to shop for back-to-school or college. Of the total, 28.2% report shopping for back-to-school items, while 25.9% report shopping for back-to-college items. This leaves 14.1% who are shopping for both. Of those shopping for back to college, 14.3% say they are shopping for themselves, and 11.6% say they are shopping for a child. Historically, the percentage of people shopping for back-to-school items has varied little over the last seven years. There was a 5% drop in 2021, no doubt due to the pandemic.
Table 1: Holidays by Month
Back-to-school and college spending averages far exceed those of all other holidays, except Christmas. Figure 1 shows the annual pattern of spending amounts, with a spring and fall increase. The polynomial fit shows a significant seasonal pattern. Halloween and Christmas spending estimates are from 2023.
Figure 1: Average Spend by Holiday with Polynomial Fit
Back-to-school Spending
The average back-to-school spending per family is $858.07. This translates to an estimated $39.4 billion for the entire country. Electronics and computers are the largest category with an average of $442 and include equipment such as a home computer, laptop, cell phone, tablet, or MP3 player. However, only 67% of the family makes such purchases, as shown in Table 2. It still comprises the largest single category. As shown in Table 3, laptops and tablets lead the list. As shown in Figure 2, this overall spending has remained steady for the last ten years and increased an average of $31 per year since 2015. Note that the holiday spending follows a second-order polynomial, with back-to-school and college and Christmas rounding out the year.
Table 2: Back-to-School Spending by Category
Table 3: Types of Electronic or Computer-Related Equipment
The largest category of planned back-to-school purchases is online, with over 56% as shown in Table 4. Department stores and discount stores follow this. Note that the percentages reflect multiple categories.
Table 4: Where Will You Purchase
Most back-to-school shoppers, nearly 70%, say they have seen higher prices this year, as shown in Table 5. This ignores the 10% that say they haven’t started shopping yet. Clothing and accessories lead the list of product categories, followed by school supplies, such as notebooks, folders, pencils, backpacks, and lunchboxes. Although down the list, personal care items, such as skin care, hair care, oral care, makeup, and OTC medicine, are seen as higher by nearly 44%.
Table 5: Seen Higher Prices on Back-to-School Items
Roughly two-thirds of shoppers say they might consider gently used items, as shown in Table 6. Clothing and accessories are the largest category considered. The primary reasons are to save money, but also to afford higher-end and one-of-a-kind items.
Table 6: Consider Gently Used Items
Back-to-school shoppers can be categorized by characteristics of their children, by grade, by wearing uniforms, and by being home-schooled. Table 7 shows the percentages by school level and wearing a uniform. Note that the school levels total more than 100% because of multiple children. Note that nearly 27% of students wear uniforms, which may indicate enrollment in a private school. It is also worth noting that there are more children in high school than in elementary school.
Table 7: Child Characteristics
Just over 16% say they plan to homeschool their child, as shown in Table 8. Adding this to the number of children wearing uniforms, it appears that 42.3% of school-age children are not attending public schools. The leading reasons for homeschooling are concerns about school safety, followed by higher quality education, as shown in Table 9. Again, note that there are often multiple reasons given.
Table 8: Homeschooling
Table 9: Reason For Homeschooling
Three factors are related to the amount of back-to-school planned spending: household income, whether living in an urban, suburban, or rural environment, and, of course, the number of children. Figure 3 shows the back-to-school spending by the number of school-aged children. The number of children is moderately associated with the spend (R2=.63) using a simple linear model. The average increment per child is just over $50, indicating some economies of scale from having multiple children. In fact, the incremental change per child is a decrease when five are reached.
Figure 2: Number of Children and Spending
Back to College Spending
The pattern for back-to-college spending is like back-to-school spending. In most categories, the average expenditure is less, except for electronics and computers, as shown in Table 10. Comparing the same four categories —clothing, shoes, supplies, and electronics — yields a weighted average spend of $ 1,325.85 for college, compared to $858.04 for school. Note that only 13.1% of respondents report having a child or dependent attending college this fall. Adding all the other items increases the weighted average to $1,325.85 or $88.8 billion. Spending on college students is substantially more than on back-to-school items.
Table 10: Back to College Spending by Category
Comparing Table 11 to Table 3 shows a similar pattern. Back-to-college shoppers are more likely to purchase a laptop.
Table 11: Types of Electronic or Computer-Related Equipment
Online is the dominant purchase location, followed by department and discount stores. Again, purchasers may visit more than one location. The difference in college shoppers is the addition of college bookstore and the home décor store because furnishing may be an additional need.
Table 12: Where Will You Purchase
As shown in Table 13, about one in five students plan to live in off-campus housing or apartments, which may require furnishings.
Table 13: Where College Students Will Live
Summary
Back-to-school and college shopping is one of the largest annual retail events in the United States, second only to Christmas in overall spending. Based on July 2024 Prosper Insights and Analytics survey data (n = 7,533), 40.1% of adults reported plans to shop, with average household expenditures of $858 for school-age children and $1,326 for college students, translating into $39.4 billion and $88.8 billion nationally. Electronics and computers comprise the largest spending category, though clothing, shoes, and supplies remain widely purchased. Online shopping has become the dominant retail channel, while nearly 70% of consumers report higher prices compared to prior years. Spending patterns are shaped by income, family size, and educational arrangements, with notable shares of children in private schools or homeschooling. Overall, the back-to-school and college season reflects a multi-month, high-value retail cycle marked by steady growth, shifting consumer behavior, and heightened sensitivity to costs.