Back-To-School Shoppers Delay Purchases As Parents How They’ll Pay Bills

Families across the country are expected to spend slightly less on back-to-school needs this year, and about half said they’ll go out less and trim other household expenses to make room in their budgets.

Back-to-school shoppers remain cautious as many K-12 parents worry about the economy, according to the 2026 Deloitte Back-to-School Survey. Spending is expected to average about $557 per child, down $13 from last year and 6 percent lower after adjusting for inflation.

Deloitte found 57 percent expect the economy to worsen in the next six months, its highest level since 2020.

Unlike last year’s early-shopping rush, families are moving more purchases closer to the first day of school, according to the survey by Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms. About 48 percent of planned spending is expected to occur by the end of July, down from 61 percent last year, with another 31 percent expected in early August.

Clothing Rises, Tech Falls

Parents plan to spend 22 percent more on clothing and accessories, partly to replace worn-out items, while projected technology spending is down 16 percent as families postpone device upgrades.

Laptop prices are climbing partly because of the artificial intelligence boom. New AI-capable computers generally require more powerful components, while construction of massive AI data centers is straining supplies of the memory chips and storage used in ordinary laptops. Market researchers expect average PC prices to rise about 17 percent to 18 percent this year.

The squeeze is particularly hard on inexpensive laptops. Memory represented about 16 percent of the cost of making a PC in 2025, but Gartner expects that share to reach 23 percent. Manufacturers have less profit margin to absorb the increase on entry-level computers, so they may raise prices, reduce specifications or stop offering some low-cost models. Gartner says the market for new PCs priced below $500 could largely disappear by 2028.

Consumers are already seeing brand-level increases.

Apple raised prices on some MacBooks by roughly 15 percent to 25 percent, while Dell and HP have also raised laptop prices, according to The Associated Press.

“The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage,” Apple said in a statement. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”

Consumers Are Shopping Strategically

Deloitte found that parents using four or more money-saving tactics nevertheless expect to spend 14 percent more, on average, than other shoppers.

Parents expect to shop across four types of stores and online sellers, on average.

Among parents surveyed:

• 71 percent would switch brands when their preferred one costs too much.
• 51 percent expect to choose store brands over national brands.
• 25 percent plan to use cash-back websites.
• Parents expect to shop across four types of sellers, on average.

Additionally, some consumer are timing their shopping with the back-to-school sales tax holiday in their state,

Some Pay For AI Tutoring

Deloitte found 13 percent of parents plan to pay for AI-related tutoring or camps. At the same time, nearly half worry children rely too heavily on AI, and only one-third say their schools have AI guidelines.

Another 38 percent do not know whether their child’s school has AI guidelines, pointing to a possible communication gap between schools and families.

Some state education departments have issued general guidance on artificial intelligence. Rules governing student and teacher use are often set by individual school districts.

• Related: Data Centers Driven By AI The Newest ‘Not In My Back Yard’ Issue

Some Consumers Are Optimistic

Price concerns remain widespread, although they have eased since inflation peaked. The National Retail Federation said 78 percent of back-to-school shoppers expect higher prices this year, compared with 84 percent in 2022.

Consumers are generally more optimistic than they were a year ago, according to a recent National Retail Federation survey. More than three-fourths (78 percent) said they expect to pay higher back-to-school shopping prices this year.

That’s an improvement from 2022, when inflation was at its peak, and 84 percent said they expected to pay more than they had the year before.

Not every household is viewing prices quite the same way.

Concern has fallen more sharply among households earning over $100,000, which accounts for a disproportionate share of expected spending. Lower-income households remain more worried about prices and are more likely to compare prices and seek discounts.