Each year’s back-to-school shopping season is the second largest holiday season for retailers. This may be well short of the November and December rush, but it is larger than many of the other shopping holiday spending trends combined. More importantly, back-to-school spending is expected to rise in 2016. This makes ways to save money more important than ever.
24/7 Wall St. has provided 10 back-to-school savings tips that are specific to 2016. In a broader theme report from July, we even showed which of the major stores were offering back-to-school deals.
One key issue is that there are more than just a couple of ways to save on back-to-school spending, and this is focused more on the conventional retail effort rather than the online buying. After all, almost two-thirds of spending is expected to be in stores. Those mothers and fathers who are willing to do some homework and are willing to go to more than one store will of course have an opportunity to save the most.
Discount stores are expected to be the largest destination, but this can be aided by looking for mailed coupons and deals in newspapers, as well as online coupons and apps from individual stores. Clothing and shoes and electronics eat up the bulk of back-to-school retail dollars for most families. You can still spend endlessly on school supplies if you are not careful.
Before we get into specific savings tips, consider this: The National Retail Federation has projected that total spending will reach $75.8 billion in 2016. Its per-student spending forecast is $673.57, up from $630.36 in 2015. The Census Bureau puts the number of students in America at 77.2 million.
1. Know Your Discount Stores
According to the National Retail Federation, discount stores are still the top destinations for back-to-school sales. This may mean stores like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Dollar General, DollarTree and many more. If you can buy a polo shirt for $15 at a discounter, why pay $45 for the same shirt at the mall? The reality is that discount stores fluctuate wildly throughout America because so many are specific to a city or a region. This is where you probably will find your best deals, and almost all of them will have items are for sale that are priced locally — so be prepared to do some homework there.
2. Tax Holidays
Not all states have back-to-school tax holidays, but many do. They start in July and run in multiple periods in August. Credit.com showed that 17 states have tax holidays of some sort in 2016. Some other states may have tax holidays of their own, but you will see that these vary wildly from state to state.
3. Online Coupons and Daily Deals
Mail and newspapers may be the oldest way to discover savings, but many sites such as Coupons.com and Groupon have back-to-school savings; ditto for online price-comparison services. Amazon has become much more common for offering 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.
4. Shop Alone
Retailers know that they get more shopping dollars out of you when you bring your kids along. Think of the candy and small toys that your kids see near the checkout. Kids are also more easily distracted by things they see, and they will keep asking you, over and over, for certain toys and other items that really have nothing to do with the back-to-school spirit. You might need your kids along for clothing and shoes fitting, but the school supplies are another matter.
5. Using a Student I.D. Card
Many adults forget that if kids use their student identification cards, they are eligible for discounts that others are not. Many times you just have to say it is a student without the identification. Many retail stores are shown having discounts on the BestCollegesOnline.com. Students themselves are often quite good about knowing where they get deals just for being a student.
6. Know When Paying Up Saves You Down the Road
How can you save money by paying more? Maybe it sounds ridiculous, but think about when quality will last for years on some items. A cheap backpack may break if overloaded once, or it may disintegrate. A high-quality backpack may last three or four years and can be handed down. The same can be true of clothing and shoes, although kids are pretty good at destroying those in a few months.
7. Ask About Price Matching
When you go to a store, just ask a cashier or salesperson if they price match. Many stores do it universally, and some do it upon request or if a manager decides to. Most stores matching prices intend for that to be other retailers, so a “Buy it Now” on eBay or a close-out sale online from Amazon or other online-only merchants might not be matched. This also pertains to the exact goods, not substitutes or different models.
8. Your Own Stuff and Others — Hand-Me-Downs!
Do not forget to think about what you might already own before back-to-school shopping. Pencils and pens might not be the same colors, but you already may have them. Ditto for paper and other items. Those boxes from last year’s outgrown clothes and other items may be a huge source of savings. This also includes asking friends and family if they have any clothes or items they did not use or did not throw out. They might even be happy to clean out their leftover stuff from storage.
9. After-the-Fact Savings
This may be irritating and may require add-on work time, but keeping an eye out for sales later in August or September may help. Shoppers can sometimes get the difference back if a store starts a sale shortly after you bought an item. Many retailers start discounting early on, and many will offer a credit back if you go to the store after they discount the item. This more frequently happens in September, and you probably can’t expect an after-the-fact discount to still work in December.
How this money is broken up varies wildly. Billions of dollars will be spent in each category of back-to-school spending. These would be electronics, school supplies, shoes and clothing, and books. Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Office Depot, Dollar General, Staples, Amazon, Apple, Google and more stores were featured in our previous look at back-to-school savings.
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