Back to school comparison shopping
Thousands of traditional calendar students in Central N.C. will head back to the classroom on Monday, August 24 for a new school year and that means back to school shopping.
The back to school season is one of the biggest for retailers, second only to the winter holiday shopping season according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). In fact, in a survey this year, the NRF finds the average family with school age children in K-12 will spend $630.36 on electronics, apparel, and other school needs, down from $669.28 last year.
This year, total spending for families in K-12 is expected to reach $24.9 billion, add families with college students to that list and spending is expected to reach $68 billion.
NRF found consumers spending habits are down from last year as consumers are changing their spending due to the economy and deciding which items children can re-use before buying new.
So, ABC11 wondered how neighborhood retailers add up when it comes to supplies and your budget. Is there a big difference?
We took a list from Wiley International Studies Magnet Elementary School for the 2014-2015 school year and purchased 14 items on the Fifth grade supply list at Target, Walmart, and Dollar Tree. We also added the items to our cart on Amazon to see how the online retailer stacked up.
Here's the grand totals:
Target $15.84
Walmart $14.84
Dollar Tree $14.95
Amazon $38.11 (with free shipping included)
Walmart was the winner with the lowest price, with Amazon's total nearly double the neighborhood stores. But, with only a dollar or less in savings, convenience could be a big factor for back to school shoppers pressed for time.
The NRF found apparel and electronics top the list for back to school budgets. For a breakdown of items click HERE.
