Back-to-school market in the U.S. - statistics & facts
As students in the United States brace themselves to say goodbye to their summer freedom and head back to school, parents are bracing themselves to say goodbye to their paycheck. During the 2026 back-to-school (BTS) shopping season, which typically takes place in the summer and early autumn, American parents, guardians, and children were planning to spend an estimated total of over 43 billion U.S. dollars. That figure set a new record, surpassing the previous high of 41.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. For 2026 specifically, this would equate to roughly 864 U.S. dollars in school supply expenses per American household.
What are parents buying?
Some of the most common educational necessities bought by guardians of schoolchildren include clothing and accessories, as well as school supplies, such as books, pens, backpacks, and more. As technology has advanced, electronics have become a necessity for many schoolchildren. On average, parents planned to spend roughly 293 U.S. dollars on electronics and computer-related equipment, followed by about 250 U.S. dollars on clothing. Still, clothing and related accessories took up the lion's share of parents' budget in 2026, accounting for more than half of total expenditure.
Tariffs, AI, and the rising cost of BTS
The economic climate has had a large impact on the prices of retail goods, and the implementation of tariffs has driven the price of back-to-school items up. Consumers have implemented various methods to combat these price hikes including buying different brands compared to the previous year, going to different retailers, and purchasing fewer clothing items. However, an increase in price is not the only cause of rising back-to-school costs. A majority of parents feel that they are asked to buy too many items, which naturally leads to more spending. Meanwhile, digitally proficient parents who use search engines, social media, and generative AI planned to spend nearly double what non-tech users budgeted, suggesting that AI-savvy households are engaging more deeply with BTS shopping.
The back-to-class season has gotten more expensive over time, with consumers spending more than twice as much as they used to back in the mid-2000s. In fact, back-to-school ranks among the leading consumer spending events in the country by average per-person outlay, trailing only back-to-college, a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.
