Big Spenders On Their Way Back To College

According to the National Retail Federation, NRF, from a study conducted by BIGresearch, students and their parents will spend a combined average of $956.93 on back-to-college merchandise, up from last year's $880.52, for a total of $47.3 billion gearing up for college.

I’ve been waiting for this data … I have a soon-to-be college freshman – my daughter - and it’s brutal! This is my second headed to college; my son is a senior at college. The difference between sending a boy to college and sending a girl to college is beyond description. When John went, he worked until the last day, threw a few things together and declared that he wanted to buy whatever he needed in Kentucky.

It turned out that he needed very little. Just the basics. No fuss, no muss. He wanted to get involved and have fun, get settled and stay busy. We got him settled, went out to dinner and that was about it. I stayed for a few days, but I needn’t have. I stayed to satisfy myself. He was happy, I cried all the way home. My nest was unraveling.

My daughter has been planning for this monumental event for some time. She has lists and has made countless phone calls to her friends discussing the lists. We have new merchandise – an abundance of textiles – all over the house. We leave next week. She is out preparing at the moment. The credit card is smoking.

Freshmen, NRF says, will spend the most this year ($1,193.60). Sophomores, with an average of $748.29, are expected to spend the least.

NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin, said "...colored laptops, stylish cell phones and distinctive dorm furniture will appeal to today's students and should be big sellers in retail stores across the country."

Everything is a hot ticket item, is it not? Laptops, digital cameras, along with iPhones and other cell phones, should be big sellers again this year, with students and their parents expected to spend a total of $12.8 billion on electronics. Spending on furnishings is expected to reach $5.43 billion, up from last year's $3.82 billion. Young adults aged 18-24 will spend the most in the dorm and apartment furnishings category, spending an average of $158.61.

57.2% of students and their families will be shopping at college bookstores, while others (51.5%), will head to discounters Nearly one-third of consumers plan to shop online for back-to-college necessities

Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch,  Phil Rist, said "For today's students, spending on college-related merchandise is as much of a necessity as wearing a business suit for a job interview... retailers are smart to focus on a group that needs to buy because of a life stage event."

Students living on-campus will outspend others by a wide margin as dorm dwellers are expected to spend $1,529.45 on college merchandise, nearly double what students living at home will spend ($774.86) and also substantially more than students living off-campus ($1161.98)

• 49.7% of those polled said they would be living at home during the school year
• 28.6% will live in off-campus housing
• 18.7% will stay in a dormitory or other type of college housing
• 1.3% will live in a fraternity or sorority house