Schools

How Much Will You Spend on Back-To-School Supplies?

You might be surprised at the national average.

With starting Thursday, local parents may be in a state of sticker shock after the last rounds of back-to-school shopping.

According to the National Retail Federation, the average person with children will spend $688.62 on back-to-school. That's up from $603.63 in 2011. 

Parents will spend an average of $246.10 on clothes and $217.88 on electronics.

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Even with that increase in spending, 84.8 of parents said that the economy will affect how they spend on back-to-school. Almost 40 percent will do at least some of their shopping online, up from 31.7 percent last year. Eleven percent of parents said that they are cutting back on their children's extracurricular activities to save money.

Parents are expected to spend $83.8 billion on back-to-school, making it the second-largest consumer spending season after the winter holidays.

Find out what's happening in Westlakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

How much are you spending on back-to-school shopping? Vote in our poll and discuss shopping and saving tips in the comments!


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