New York: For Michelle Lynn England, back-to-school shopping always meant heading to Target and the local mall with her two girls and dropping about 500 on each of them for trendy outfits.
Not this year.
The Charlotte, North Carolina resident has slashed her spending on clothing in half for her 10-year-old and 14-year-old and instead upped her spending on masks and supplies as a surge in Coronavirus cases has forced her local school district to extend online learning through the fall.
The kids always looked forward to getting something new, said England, who spent 500 in total this time around. It didn't make any sense to buy any extra clothes that won't be worn."
At one point inconceivable, the pandemic has now dragged into the new school year, wreaking havoc on reopening plans. That has extended to the back-to-school shopping season, the second most important period for retailers behind the holidays.
Parents are buying less dressy clothes and more basics for their kids, while stepping up purchases of masks and other protective equipment as well as electronics. They're also holding back on spending amid uncertainty over what the school year will look like. The back-to-school season typically kicks off in mid-July and peaks in mid-August; this year, the peak should hit in late August and spill into most of September, experts say.
We are definitely seeing a delay," said Jill Renslow, senior vice president of Bloomington, Minnesota-based Mall of America, which reopened in mid-June with social distancing protocols. People just don't know what they need."
Renslow said the most popular purchases are electronics like laptops and headphones; for clothing, shoppers are focusing on comfortable items like yoga pants. She's also seeing increased sales of home decor for kids' rooms as they spend more time doing online learning.
The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, is pinning its hopes on parents splurging on pricey items like computers and other electronic devices to help their kids learn from home. The trade group predicts that parents of elementary and high school students will spend a total of 33.9 billion this year, up from 26.2 billion last year and breaking the record of 30.3 billion set in 2012.
College students and their families are expected to spend a total of 67.7 billion, up from 54.5 billion last year and breaking the record of 55.3 billion set in 2018, according to the trade group.