Back-to-school shopping used to mean notebooks, pencils, folders and maybe a new backpack. Apparently, we were adorable.
I remember back to school shopping being pretty straightforward. You needed notebooks, pencils, folders, maybe a new backpack, and there was a decent chance your mother decided last year’s sneakers were no longer acceptable.
Apparently we’ve upgraded.
The National Retail Federation’s 2026 back-to-school survey says households with K–12 students expect to spend an average of $863.86 on back-to-school purchases this year.
And NRF isn’t alone. PwC’s 2026 back-to-school survey, which surveyed more than 2,000 American parents, came up with an even bigger number: $922 per family. Nearly half said they expect to spend more than they did last year.
Apparently getting a kid from August to September has become a nearly $1,000 event.
According to NRF’s breakdown, households expect to spend about $293 on electronics, $250 on clothing and accessories, $174 on shoes and $146 on actual school supplies.
So out of an $864 back-to-school budget, only about 17% is going toward the category that sounds most like… going back to school.
The School List Has Some Competition
To be fair, this isn’t necessarily retailers tricking parents into buying $864 worth of crayons.
Something else is happening here too. Back-to-school has become another one of those famously invented shopping seasons.
PwC found that 61% of parents plan to let their kids add products directly to the family’s online shopping cart. Children’s preferences are now the single most commonly cited influence on back to school purchases in its survey, ahead of even the school’s supply list.
NRF found something similar. According to its analysis of where shoppers are finding back-to-school inspiration, 62% of K–12 shoppers said at least half of their spending is directly influenced by their child.
That’s quite a promotion for the kids. We’ve gone from “Here’s the list your teacher gave us” to “Please add your preferred products to the cart and I’ll review your proposal.”
And kids aren’t exactly approaching this as procurement officers tasked with finding the lowest bidder. PwC says nearly a third of parents report their children asking for name brand or trend driven products, with social media, friends and online communities graciously helping shape what they want.
Suddenly the $864 starts making a little more sense…
So What Actually Counts as “Back-to-School Shopping”?
Obviously kids need supplies. Growing kids need clothes and shoes. Increasingly, they need technology too.
But somewhere between the No. 2 pencils and the $293 electronics budget, we turned returning to school into one of America’s annual retail events.
And once something becomes a “season,” an amazing number of things suddenly become essential.
So parents, I want to hear from you: What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve been asked to buy for back-to-school?
Maybe it came from the school. Maybe it came from your kid. Maybe you stared at it in your shopping cart for 30 seconds before wondering how we got here.
Put it in the comments.
I have a feeling the school supply list has changed quite a bit since I was carrying a Trapper Keeper.
