As of early July, 67% of back-to-school shoppers had begun purchasing items for the upcoming school year, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. That’s up from 55% last year and the highest proportion since NRF started tracking early shopping in 2018.
College students and their families plan to spend an average of $1,325.85 during the back-to-school season, down from $1,364.75 in 2024, according to NRF. Although per person spending has decreased, on average, more consumers are shopping across almost every category, driving the expected total BTS spend to $88.8 billion, up from $86.6 billion last year, NRF reported.
On average, the top five categories for return to college spending are $309.50 for electronics, $191.39 for dorm or apartment furnishings, $166.07 on clothing and accessories, $140.24 on food and $117.95 on personal care items.
The top shopping destination for college students and their parents remains online, for 48%, followed by discount stores for 36%, department stores for 35% and college bookstores for 27%. Although the retail destinations cited this year line up as in 2024, discount stores have risen in popularity by five percentage points in 2025 as shoppers look for value, NRF indicated.
Families with students in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $858.07 on back-to-school products, down from $874.68 in 2024. Despite families budgeting less this year, slightly more consumers are purchasing apparel and electronics, pushing expected total spending to $39.4 billion up from $38.8 billion last year. K-12 shoppers are budgeting $295.81 on average for electronics , $249.36 for clothing and accessories, $169.13 for shoes and $143.77 for school supplies.
As with recent years, the most popular destinations for K-though-12 back-to-school shopping are online at 55%, department stores at 48%, discount stores at 47% and clothing stores at 41%, NRF noted.
Concerns about high prices due to tariffs have driven 51% of back-to-school families to shop earlier this year versus last year, NRF added. Still, despite the head start, 84% of consumers responding to the July 1-7 survey still had at least half of their purchases left to complete. The top reasons consumers haven’t finished back-to-school shipping are because they are waiting for the best deals, for 47%; do not yet know what items are needed, for 39%; or are planning to spread out their budgets, for 24%, NRF maintained.
Retailer promotions such as Prime Day, Walmart Deals and Target Circle Week remain popular among BTS consumers, with 82% planning to shop for return to the classroom-related merchandise during July savings events.
“Consumers are being mindful of the potential impacts of tariffs and inflation on back-to-school items, and have turned to early shopping, discount stores and summer sales for savings on school essentials,” said Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights Katherine Cullen. “As shoppers look for the best deals on clothes, notebooks and other school-related items, retailers are highly focused on affordability and making the shopping experience as seamless as possible.”
Prosper’s Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategy, said the increase in overall return-to-college spending “can largely be attributed to higher-income households, while lower-income households are pulling back across categories because of economic uncertainty. Regardless of income, families want to ensure their students are set up for success. They are cutting back in other areas, using buy now, pay later, or buying used or refurbished items to have everything they need for the school year.”
