According to a recently released report from the National Retail Federation, students and their parent will spend a combined average of $956.93 this year on back to college shopping, up from $880.52 in 2006. “Because the college years are an important time for young adults to express their individuality, retailers will pull out all the stops to catch students’ attention,” said NRF Chief Executive Tracy Mullin in a recent statement. “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.”
The NRF claims the U.S. back-to-school season runs from July into September and is the second biggest shopping time of the year behind the year-end holiday season. The NRF report did add that many retailers are worried that higher food and gas prices may crimp consumers’ spending somewhat as we head into Q3 and Q4 2007.
The report added that students and their families will spend approximately $12.8 billion on electronics, up about 22 percent from a year ago. The NRF forecast claimed that these figures will be fueled in large part by expected brisk sales of laptops, digital cameras and cell phones. Expect Apple’s recently released iPhone to be responsible for a surprisingly high percentage of that total.
