{"id":2008996,"date":"2023-08-23T06:53:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T10:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/back-to-school-parents-see-inflation-ease-on-certain-items-as-prices-rise-on-others\/"},"modified":"2023-08-23T06:54:26","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T10:54:26","slug":"back-to-school-parents-see-inflation-ease-on-certain-items-as-prices-rise-on-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/back-to-school-parents-see-inflation-ease-on-certain-items-as-prices-rise-on-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents experience mixed inflation effects on back-to-school items. Prices decrease on some items while rising on others."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fback-to-school-parents-see-inflation-ease-on-certain-items-as-prices-rise-on-others%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2008996&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Back-to-School Shopping: \u200dPrices, Predictions, and Savings<\/h2>\n<p>Back-to-school shopping \u200cis in\u200b full swing, and \u2063while the prices of some \u2062products \u200dhave notably fallen from last year\u2019s season, inflation \u200cis still \u200cpinching parents across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Annual headline inflation peaked in\u2063 June of last year, punching\u2062 in at over \u20649%\u200d for\u200c the first time \u2064in decades. \u200cSince then,\u200c annual \u200cinflation has fallen nearly \u200bevery \u2063month and is now at 3.2%, nearly down to the Federal Reserve\u2019s goal of\u200d 2%. Compared to last \u200dyear, some back-to-school\u2064 shoppers might\u200b notice a\u200b bit of relief, but it \u200cis worth noting that overall\u200d prices are still much higher \u200cthan just two or three years \u2062ago.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Republican\u200c Debate: RNC Announces \u2064the Eight\u2063 GOP 2024 Contenders Who Made the Cut<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Items like back-to-school shoes, computers, computer software, textbooks, and sporting \u2062goods all cost\u2063 less than they did this time last year. Meanwhile, back-to-school clothing, daycare and\u2063 preschool\u2062 costs, musical \u2062instruments, and back-to-school \u200dhaircuts all cost\u2064 more money today than they did in July 2022 as\u200d parents were gearing up for the \u2063return to\u2062 school.<\/p>\n<p>But\u200b with\u2064 all the moving parts, experts are mixed on whether consumers will spend more or\u200c less than \u200clast year\u2019s back-to-school shopping season.<\/p>\n<p>The National Retail Federation thinks that shoppers will \u2063spend more money this year \u200bthan last\u200d year, breaking the record for the most\u200b expensive year. The NRF \u200bpredicts back-to-school spending\u2062 will\u200b hit a\u2063 record of $41.5 billion, \u2062up from $36.9 billion last year and eclipsing the previous high of $37.1 billion notched in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Shopping\u200b began for many earlier this summer, with 55% of\u200b respondents in an NRF survey saying they already began their shopping as\u200d of early \u2062July. Families\u200c with children in kindergarten through \u2062high school plan to spend an average of $890 on back-to-school items this year, which is about $25 more than \u200blast year\u2019s record of just \u2064over $864, and would be a new record.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBack-to-class shopping is\u2063 one of the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/back-to-school-parents-see-inflation-ease-on-certain-items-as-prices-rise-on-others\/\" title=\"Parents experience mixed inflation effects on back-to-school items. Prices decrease on some items while rising on others.\">important consumer shopping occasions<\/a> of the year,&#8221; said NRF President\u200d and \u2063CEO Matthew Shay. \u201cOur research for 2023 shows American consumers \u2063are eager\u200b to\u2063 jump-start\u200d their back-to-school and college purchases early.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRetailers have\u2063 been preparing for\u2063 months to \u2064ensure they are well stocked \u200bwith essential items that families \u2064and\u2062 students need for the school year,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>But consulting firm Deloitte predicts that back-to-school spending for those with children in kindergarten\u200b through \u2062the 12th grade will actually decrease \u200cby some 10% compared to last year\u2019s levels.<\/p>\n<p>The firm expects that the overall back-to-school market will decrease to $31.2\u2063 billion, although the market will remain above <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-racing-to-pass-appropriations-bills-to-avoid-continuing-resolution-and-shutdown\/\" title=\"House rushing to approve appropriations bills to prevent CR and shutdown.\">pre-pandemic spending levels<\/a>, increasing by more \u200cthan 12% \u2063since 2019. Deloitte\u2019s research shows that parents \u200cwill spend just under $600\u2062 per student this year, 10% less than \u2064last year.<\/p>\n<p>A big part of\u2062 why parents might\u2063 end up spending less on school supplies this year comes \u200bdown to \u2063their individual financial \u200bsituation.\u200c Parents will try their best \u2064to find\u2063 savings and economize this shopping season, \u200bfavoring mass merchants and online retailers, according to the Deloitte survey.<\/p>\n<p>Given higher interest rates (the Fed has been \u200bhiking its rate target since \u2062March 2022 \u200bin response to high inflation), parents are opting \u2062to use more cash this year. Deloitte \u200dfound\u200b that 77% of shoppers will use \u200ccash, while just over half will pay using credit cards for their back-to-school purchases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith budgets \u200dstrained this season,\u200b continued\u200d high prices could \u2064dampen the\u200b excitement of the back-to-school \u2062season for many families,\u201d\u200c said\u200b Nick\u200d Handrinos, vice \u200cchairman at Deloitte LLP. \u201cParents are\u2064 likely to be strategic about\u200c their spending to help ensure children\u200d are set\u2062 up for success at the start of the school year by renewing school supplies\u2062 but perhaps holding off on new clothing until\u2062 needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Some of\u200b the biggest \u2064savings \u200cfrom last \u2063year to \u2062now, as tracked by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/days-of-feds-historic-tightening-cycle-may-be-numbered-thanks-to-inflation-news\/\" title=\"Fed's tightening cycle may end soon due to inflation news.\">consumer price \u200cindex<\/a>, \u2064will be \u2064found in the\u2063 electronics department.<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Computer software and accessories are just about 7% cheaper now than\u2062 in July \u200bof last year, and computers themselves are\u2062 down nearly 5%. Parents wanting to give their child \u200ba new back-to-school\u2064 smartphone will encounter savings of more \u200dthan 17%.<\/p>\n<p>Some food items will also \u2064be cheaper. Peanut butter, a staple for PB&#038;J sandwiches, is 1.7% less expensive this shopping season than last. But other\u200d kid-friendly food items are\u200c more expensive, like breakfast cereal, which \u200dcosts just over 5% \u2062in July of this year compared to last July.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Clothes for the\u200c new school year will largely be\u2063 more costly. Boys\u2019 clothing costs 3.4% more\u2064 this year, and girls\u2019 clothes prices are up a more\u200d pronounced 7.2%. \u2063Apparel prices \u2063for infants and toddlers have risen\u200b nearly\u2064 6%. Meanwhile,\u200c boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 shoes are just \u200bover 1% cheaper\u2064 than\u2062 this \u200dtime last year.<\/p>\n<p>For college students, \u200btuition and fees \u2064have risen by an average of \u200b2% over the past year. But \u2062college textbooks cost 3.6% less this coming semester\u2063 than last\u200c year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Back-to-school shopping is in full swing, with prices of some products lower than last year. However, inflation continues to burden parents nationwide. In June last year, annual headline inflation reached a decades-high of over 9%. Since then, it has decreased significantly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2008997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2008997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}