Each year’s back-to-school shopping season acts like a mini-Christmas and mini-holiday season in August for retailers. While it is a fraction of total retail versus the holidays, the wave of spending for the kids is the second largest spending event each year. Back-to-school spending adds up to roughly Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Easter combined. And back-to-school spending is expected to rise 2016. All this adds up to thinking about ways to save being as more important than ever.

24/7 Wall St. has provided 13 tips for back-to-school savings with very specific ways to save money specific to the year 2016. We have also included eight specific companies for savings that were seen in the last week of July, but there are actually many other stores mentioned.

Have you heard “a dollar saved is a dollar earned” before? An important consideration is that there are more than just a couple of ways to save money on your back-to-school needs. If you want a one-stop shop, chances are it will cost more for the convenience. If you are willing to do your homework and drive around, you may save more (but you have to add in the cost of gas and hope not to get backed into in the parking lots).

One admission that is obvious is that many more back-to-school savings deals have yet to be announced. Discount stores rule the roost in back-to-school spending, but mail and newspapers are still a major source for advertising and discounts (and coupons). Deals can be found online and at in-store offerings. And don’t forget about all those apps.

Most back-to-school spending will still be in stores in 2016, but some sources are predicting over one-third of spending will be online (just like Christmas in August!). 24/7 Wall St. is more focused on the broader retail aspect of how to save money, but there are many other ways to save.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) released its top trends for 2016 back-to-school and college shopping. The NRF’s data projects that total spending will reach $75.8 billion this year, and the per-student spending will rise to $673.57 in 2016 from $630.36 in 2015.

The Census Bureau showed the total number of students in America as 77.2 million, based on its 2014 estimates, counting those from nursery school to college. Of that total, some 48.3 million were counted in the fall enrollment for elementary and secondary public school systems in 2013. The Census Bureau also noted that the average amount of current spending per elementary and secondary public school student was $11,009 in 2014.

Clothing and shoes and electronics eat up the bulk of back-to-school retail spending dollars for most families. You can still spend endlessly on school supplies if you are not careful.

24/7 Wall St. has featured eight of the top stores and online destinations specifically for back-to-school sales and deals. These are directly linked to each. After the stores are 13 broader ways that parents and kids alike can find ways to think of broader ongoing back-to-school savings.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer. It has been known for low prices for decades now. The Wal-Mart back-to-school section has endless offerings in backpacks, clothing, school supplies, electronics and more.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) may not be thought of as your first place to get back-to-school deals, but those going off to college will all need or want new computers. Maybe it’s a laptop these days rather than a desktop, or maybe it is a tablet with a keyboard attachment that converts it basically into a laptop. Best Buy has a “sign up for college student deals” in its Student Hub section.

Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) has targeted back-to-school sales from the top down by targeting teachers. Sadly, teachers often spend their own money out of their own pockets for additional supplies or things for their classrooms. Office Depot has offered educators with a 25% discount during Teacher Appreciation Days in its stores from July 30 to August 2 and from August 27 to August 30. It is also offering a VIP savings card with additional savings through October 31. The normal back-to-school section of its site also shows its weekly deals.

Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) might not be able to merge with Office Depot, so it wants to be aggressive too. The back-to-school section of its site talks about lists and lowest prices, and they even offer a 110% Lowest Price Guarantee and features its weekly hottest in-store offers to drive you to the stores.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has many back-to-school offerings, for savings on backpacks and lunch bags, saving up to 15% on school supplies, and savings on Cat & Jack kids’ clothing (Target exclusive). Target also has a school list assistance site for all the school supplies.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) sells almost everything you can imagine. This is the same for back-to-school items, with almost 1 million results in general back-to-school items. Still, Amazon has its own editor’s picks segment for K-12. Amazon Prime is generally king for free shipping on most items, and that service has become ever more popular each year.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) is the king of dollar stores, but it has participated in the trend of reaching up to higher priced items over recent years. It even has a back-to-school section of its site, and its coupon is to save $5 when you spend $20 on school supplies. Many of these brands and supplies are even the exact same ones you might recognize if you were in school yourself in the past decade or two.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a favorite among students and young adults, but it hardly discounts on items and its back-to-school section mostly shows what Apple offers inside classrooms. The company does have its education pricing section there, but the most recent back-to-school year position was for 2014. Again, Apple is popular but it just is not known at all for offering any great discounts. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has started with savings in the Google Store, showing discounts on Chomebooks and smartphones.

There are many other specific ways to think of for saving money. 24/7 Wall St. has 13 broader themes worth consideration for specific means of saving money in back-to-school spending.

1. Use Those Tax Holidays

Many states have a back-to-school tax holiday, which actually spreads into many things that might not just be for kids. Credit.com showed that 17 states have tax holidays of some sort in 2016, and they are on numerous items sold by retailers. These all range in various dates, from the end of July and in the month of August. This tax holiday usually pertains to clothing items under a certain dollar amount and school supplies. Some even have tax holidays on computers, hardware and software.

2. Coupons and Daily Deals, Online and Off

There are many other generic ways to save money outside of just coupons in the mail and in newspapers. Coupons.com and Groupon offer ways to save, but the number of back-to-school related items was sparse in July. There are many store apps and broader apps (too many to list) that offer daily deals and offer limited time coupons or savings. In most cases you can even double-check that availability right in the store.

3. Show That Student I.D.

Do not forget to show your student identification. You need to ask at each one, but students get discounts at many retail stores. This is harder to know ahead of time, but the reality is that students are often quite good about knowing where they get deals just for being a student.

4. Parents Should Shop Alone

There is one fact of going to a retail store with your kids. They will force you into spending more money than if you went on your own. Did you ever wonder why they have so many candies and trinkets in the area right around the cash register? It’s because they know you may buckle and give the kid a reward. Also, just basic shopping is hard to do with many kids. How many kids keep pointing out how much they like or want a toy? You might need your kids along for many purchases, like clothing and shoes, but getting the list knocked out on your own will not pry your money out on top of what you were going for. It may make for more post-shopping sanity too!

5. Paying Up for Quality May Last Years

Another consideration to saving money is one of the harder arguments to make if parents are tight on cash. How can paying more be a way to save money? Sometimes paying up for quality really matters. Those kids never seem to get more than a few months out of their clothing and shoes, but what about backpacks? A kid’s backpack can be bought on the cheap and it may last a year or so. Spending up may buy a backpack that can be used for several years.

6. Check on Price Matching

Do not dare forget to ask about price-matching when you are inside a store. Many stores sell goods for different prices, but some retail stores will do price-matching. If you have an ad or can show them online that a major retailer (not Bob’s Online Shop in Anchorage) is selling the same exact good at a cheaper price, they may be willing to match that price.

7. Don’t Overlook What You Already Have

Don’t forget to look in the closet for last year’s backpack before you tackle your back-to-school list. You probably have at least some of the items that are still fine. If you bought 20 pens and pencils last year, chances are high that some are still good. And maybe you have some of these items at home anyway.
8. Keep An Eye Out Even After You Buy

Do not forget to keep an eye out for sales after you buy. Most stores will give you a price adjustment after the fact if you are willing to go back in if the item went on sale after you buy it. That may come in handy at the start of the school year or right after school starts.

9. Hand-Me-Downs

If you have more than one kid, you know that you can use the same items later if you can save them. Sure, Sally’s pink unicorn shirt might not work for Bobby. Calculators, backpacks, belts and other items may last for years after your youngster outgrows them. It’s also not out of the norm for friends and other family members to share their things from kid to kid. This is where you can truly save money over buying retail, because it’s free and your friend or family probably stuck it in a closet and forgot about it anyway.

10. Thinking About Furniture?

When parents have to start buying furniture for kids to go to college, things quickly can get out of hand. Knowing what the baseline cost of things happens to be is imperative. Ikea is a destination for anyone who needs furniture for a first apartment or dorm. Its goods are often dirt cheap and probably will need to be replaced by graduation. Wayfair is also becoming more frequently used as well for online furniture buying, and some of its prices almost seem too good to be true. Craigslist can also be a great spot to buy furniture and basic goods locally from people who are moving or who are selling furniture for a dozen other reasons.

11. Parent-Teacher Supply Stores, Drug and Grocery Stores

Another place to save money, if focused, can be at parent-teacher supply stores and at drug stores. Ditto for grocery stores. These can vary wildly in prices. When the supplies savings really come into play is after the rush, when the stores are cleaning out inventory so they don’t sit on it for a year. There is a risk to shopping after the rush: your biggest back to school needs might not be filled.

12. Discount Stores

The NRF noted that discount stores remain one of the top destinations for back-to-school shopping. We mentioned Dollar General, and that would be the same for the other dollar stores, but do not forget about T.J. Maxx and a host of other clearance and discount stores. If you can buy a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt that is the exact same shirt sold in a department store for half-price, why would you not?

13. Used Might Not Mean Junk

Kids are hard on most of their belongings. Still, some belongings never or hardly get used. And there are many outlets for buying used, like eBay and Craigslist. These and other sites may offer significant discounts from the retail price if it was new. Resale shops and thrift stores often have dirt cheap clothing and other commonly needed items. Used doesn’t have to mean ruined.

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If you do not believe just how much of this is about retail spending for back to school, the Census Bureau showed its 2016 outlook and made some references to 2015 and 2014:

• $8.8 billion estimated sales at family clothing stores in August 2015
• $1.6 billion estimated sales at bookstores in August 2015
• $256.9 million estimates for the dollar value of binders and folders imported in 2015
• $17.7 million estimated as the dollar value of U.S. imports of rubber erasers in 2015
• $83.5 billion estimated in private and public educational construction in 2015

Synchrony reported that confidence in personal finances will boost back-to-school retail sales by 3.2% to 3.7% from July to September. Some 59% of parents and 40% of college students are extremely confident or very confident in their own financial situation in 2016, but only 29% of parents and 16% of college students had that same confidence in the overall economy.

Huntington Bank’s 2016-2017 Backpack Index shows what parents can expect to pay per child on back-to-school spending with gains versus this time in 2015:

• Elementary school children is $659, up 1.5%.
• Middle school children is $957, up 1.6%.
• And high school students are expected to cost $1,498, up 6.8%.

You may notice that food was not included. This is a broader effort all on its own, and it will vary wildly from location to location. Specific needs also may come into play, which make packaged foods or broader themes irrelevant.

The long and short of the matter is that if each kid is going to cost several hundred dollars to over $1,000, then you better make time to look for ways to save money. Admittedly, even with the specific sites and stores in mind, this may only scratch the surface when it comes to ways to save money for the 2016 back-to-school session.

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