U.S. back-to-school shoppers for kindergarten through college plan to spend an average of $954 each on school-related items, compared with $961 in 2019 and $1,053 in 2020, according to ICSC’s Back-to-School Survey of 1,003 respondents conducted July 9 to 11.

“As states across the country continue to fully reopen, the majority of consumers are returning to their pre-pandemic shopping behaviors,” said ICSC president and CEO Tom McGee. “Consumer confidence and spending will be the driving force that helps to reinvigorate the U.S. economy; back-to-school and the upcoming holiday shopping seasons will contribute to elevating profits to the levels we saw prior to the pandemic.”

Shoppers who will spend more this year had a variety of reasons: One-third said additional COVID-19 supplies like masks, sanitizers and disinfecting cloths are needed; 32% need to replace wardrobe items, school supplies and/or sporting equipment; 27% said the number of individuals in their households who are attending school has increased; 22% said items are more expensive; and 15% said their job status or income has changed.

Back-to-school shoppers will be searching for deals, as 86 percent say sales will influence their shopping decisions. Among those deal seekers, 47% said that once they are in a store, promotions will influence their purchases; 38% will plan their back-to-school shopping around promotional events and dates like sales tax holidays and big sales; and 32% plan to take advantage of deals from membership or loyalty programs.

Back-to-school shopping will continue to occur across multiple channels. Sixty-five percent will shop both in store and online rather than through only a single channel, and 27 percent plan to increase their use of buy-online-pick-up-in-store.

“Our back-to-school survey confirms that planning, shopping and spending habits among adults look much like they did before the pandemic,” McGee said. “Consumer spending will help bolster a reinvigorated economy as we emerge from our stay-at-home lives. Consumer traffic and spending continue to increase as regular activities continue to resume across the country.”