Kids are officially back in school learning writing and arithmetic – unless you live in the province of British Columbia – but parents still have yet to complete all of their back to school shopping to-do lists for their children.
Business analysts expect that busy consumers are still likely to continue their back to school shopping needs throughout September as they seek out better promotions and reduce their overall costs. Retailers will also do their part by offering bigger deals to attract Canadian consumers.
Earlier in the summer, consulting firm EY released a report that projected back to school sales for conventional items like clothing, stationery and shoes would remain flat when compared to last year. This conclusion was made because of rising inflation and higher food and gas prices, which would lead to consumers to have less money in their pocket to spend.
EY told CBC News that the marketplace has become “very competitive” this year and retailers are ramping up their sales in the final stretch of the season as consumers are noticing more emails with limited time offers and 24-hour flash discounts.
”You do have more competition this year certainly from Target, which has its full 130 stores online, versus about 50 or so last year,” said Daniel Baer, retail and consumer products sector leader for the consulting agency. “A few retailers have used that during the holiday shopping period quite successfully, and we’ve seen more retailers picking up on that during back-to-school.”
In addition, experts say cost conscious consumers will wait it out to see if some items, such as books, are available at second-hand stores when kids have finally settled in the classroom. Overall, the back to school shopping season will continue throughout the month of September.
In the United States, there have already been signs that retail sales during one of the busiest seasons of the year have stayed flat. Last month, it was reported that forecast sales would be lower because of an “uncertain economic environment,” which has caused many consumers to feel hesitant about “spending more” of their disposable income.
It had been estimated that U.S. families will spend approximately $26.5 billion this year and each household will spend close to $700. In both Canada and the U.S., forecasts call for anything from flat to a modest three to four percent growth.
Whatever the case, consumers will continue the trend of heading online to find the best deals possible, particularly when it comes to electronics – this could be difficult when it comes to clothing and shoes because of sizes as well as growth spurts for children. With that being said, experts present the case that e-commerce not only leads to greater deals but it also allows parents to diminish the stress and tensions that usually come with spending a large sum of money in August and September.
The official sales numbers on the back to school shopping season won’t be released until around the end of the month.