Back-to-school shopping is coming early: why, does it mean significant savings?
Buying pens, pencils, and other school equipment can be expensive — here’s why ‘back to school’ shopping is coming early this year.
Normally, people complain that Halloween or Christmas shopping happens too early — but what about ‘Back to school’?
Buying pens, pencils, and sharpeners can be an expensive job for parents, especially if they have more than one child and strict requirements for what specific schools, classes, and teachers tell their pupils to bring.
And this year, back-to-school shopping in the U.S. is off to an unusually early start. Driven by a mix of rising prices and looming tariffs that have families scrambling to secure deals before costs climb even higher, stats show that two-thirds of shoppers had already begun purchasing school supplies and clothing by early July, up 55% from last year.
And guess what: it’s Donald Trump’s fault.
With the Trump administration set to impose steep new levies on over 20 countries starting August 1, including 10% on most imports and up to 30% on European goods, parents are rushing to buy before prices spike.
In fact, the impact of these tariffs is already being felt. While wholesale inflation remained flat, prices for finished goods—particularly in categories like clothing, furniture, and electronics—have begun to climb, as businesses have no other choice but to pass increased costs onto consumers.
Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights, said in a statement that “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.”
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“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,” Cullen added.
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