RALEIGH — According to the National Retail Federation, per-household spending on school supplies has dipped slightly over last year’s figures.
For families shopping for K-12 supplies, the National Retail Federation (NRF) annual survey shows households this year will spend an average of $874.68, a $15 drop over 2023 spending.
Supplies in 2023 were the highest on record in the history of NRF’s annual survey.
NRF’s survey shows the total K-12 spending could reach $38.8 billion and is also “the second-highest figure on record, after last year’s high of $41.5 billion.”
Between 2019 and 2023, the average expected K-12 spending rose by just under 28%.
In 2019, K-12 school supply average spending was around $696 per household. That number jumped to just over $789 in 2020 during the pandemic and increased to almost $849 in 2021. Spending continued to rise in 2022 to over $864 and jumped again in 2023 to an all-time high of $890.
According to Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist, electronics drove expected spending higher in 2023, which is why the numbers are slightly lower this year.
“Last year’s watermark was partially driven by record investments in electronics, with 69% of back-to-school shoppers planning to purchase a laptop, tablet or other electronic device for their student,” Rist said in the NRF press release. “These are typically items students can use for several years, which may be why we are seeing slightly less interest in electronics this year.”
The same spending increases in K-12 supplies have also been seen for college students, with spending ticking up slightly in 2024 over the previous year.
“College students and their families are expected to spend an average of $1,364.75 on items for the upcoming school year, in line with last year’s record of $1,366.95,” according to NRF. “Total back-to-college spending is expected to reach $86.6 billion, the second-highest figure in the history of the survey. Last year, total spending was forecast to hit a record $94 billion.”
College supply average expected spending has risen 41% between 2019 and 2023, according to NRF data.
In 2019, average expected college supply spending hit a total of $977, per NRF. That spending rose during the pandemic year to $1,059 and climbed to a high of nearly $1,367 in 2023.
NRF estimates that around 55% of families have already begun back-to-school shopping as of July.
