Retailers Have Back-To-School In The Bag

After more than a year of on-and-off Zoom schooling, parents have a fair bit of back-to-school shopping to do as children return to classrooms. Retailers—both last year’s winners and laggards—will need it. School districts in many parts of the U.S. are mandating in-person attendance this fall. Colleges are also planning to bring students back on campus. That sets up for a strong buying season: Back-to-school spending is expected to reach an all-time high this year, according to a recent survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Another survey by Deloitte showed that parents expect to spend 16% more on back-to-school shopping this year, a marked uptick from the 1-3% growth rate seen in recent years. “We’re planning for one of our biggest back-to-school and college seasons ever,” Target’s chief growth officer, Christina Hennington, said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call in May. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.