Deloitte: Back-to-school shoppers place more emphasis on value than on retailer loyalty

Further results of the “Deloitte Back-to-School Survey 2024” can be found below.

• When looking for bargains, parents plan to use an average of 4.7 retail formats, up from 3.9 in 2023. They may forego loyalty programs to stay within budget. Mass retailers (77%) and online retailers (65%) are the most popular destinations.

•Parents plan to make the most of early discounts, with 66% of spending expected to happen by the end of July (compared to 59% last year).

•Back-to-school spending for students in grades K-12 is expected to remain flat, totaling $31.3 billion, or about $586 per student, according to respondents.

•Despite financial concerns, 85% of parents surveyed would spend a lot of money on their child’s back-to-school essentials and 50% would shop for themselves.

• In addition to spending on back-to-school products, 86% of parents surveyed have enrolled their children in extracurricular activities and plan to spend $582, including fees and equipment.

“We expect back-to-school spending to be flat or slightly declined on an inflation-adjusted basis, driven primarily by middle-income families juggling their financial priorities and ongoing inflation perceptions,” said Stephen Rogers, managing director of the Deloitte Insights Consumer Industry Center at Deloitte Services LP.. “Retailers will face headwinds in sales and customer loyalty as consumers look to save money. But as retailers look to please their children, they will likely have opportunities to take advantage of the leniency parents are willing to give.”

Deloitte’s Survey on the start of school was conducted online between May 22 and 30, 2024, using an independent research panel, and surveyed 1,198 parents with at least one child attending grades K-12 this fall.