Back-to-school shoppers are preparing to spend more this year, but many are still looking for ways to save where they can.
According to KPMG’s 2023 Consumer Back to School survey of more than 600 U.S. households with students, shoppers plan to spend on average about $377 per kid, which is up 21 percent from a year ago. More than 60 percent of respondents report being concerned about inflation, with 70 percent of them looking for early discounts and 57 percent looking for cheaper brands.
Consumer prices rose 4 percent in May compared to last year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index. This marked the smallest 12-month increase since the period ending March 2021. Retail footwear prices in May grew for the 26th consecutive month, with kid’s footwear prices up 0.6 percent.
To beat rising prices, shoppers plan to purchase items earlier this year, with 62% having already started or planning to start back to school shopping before August 1, compared to the 53% who replied similarly a year ago.
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“Inflation is pressing consumers to start early and find the deals from retailers willing to offer the door buster promotions that will drive traffic and excitement in a challenging environment,” said Matt Kramer, KPMG Consumer and Retail Sector Leader in a statement. “Winning customers through great value and experience in tough times can go a long way to building long-term loyalty.”
Overall, 40 percent of shoppers said they feel worse off financially than a year ago.
Meanwhile, retailers will likely play up value and newness as they prepare to capture demand for the back-to-school season. With inventory excesses and supply chain slowdowns of the last two years mostly in the past, some footwear retailers say they are entering the season with a strong assortment of athletic product.
The Caleres-owned Famous Footwear, which delivered its best-ever back-to-school in 2022, plans to surpass this growth in 2023.
“This year, we have a better in-stock position from the beginning on key trending brands and styles that we’ve reacted to due to our well-managed inventory position,” Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres, said in a call with analysts earlier this month.
Shoe Carnival expects a similar benefit from its broad assortment in back-to-school this year.
“This year, we have the athletic brand assortment, depth and freshness in hand that we did not have last year,” President and CEO Mark Worden said in a May call with analysts. “While I’m not saying the customer economic issues driving soft traffic will be soft in Q2, I do think we are in a position to continue to grab athletic market share this year convert at very high levels and maintain our healthy gross profits in this declining market environment we face.”
Genesco CEO Mimi Vaughn also noted the influx of newness at the company, which will be present during the back-to-school season.
Channel-wise, shoppers plan to do 60% of their purchasing in store, on par with last year. And with an expected 37 percent share, mass merchant were the highest preferred channel for back-to-school shopping.
